Marie Josephine Wright
by geekcornerbby
Summary: Marie Josephine Wright is a French British Witch, seventeen years old and about to start her last year of school. Her recent transfer from Beauxbatons to Hogwarts is a total cultural shock, but through Quidditch, Dragons and a tightly-knit group of friends, she pulls through with all the class her french self can muster.
1. Chapter 1

James Potter looked around platform 9 ¾ and sighed happily: he was about to start his seventh and last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He took in the now familiar platform, the smoke from the Hogwarts Express that had once made his eyes tear up. He looked around, and his eyes locked on a group of redheads a bit further down. Albus and Lily rushed past him towards the redheads. James followed them, but he did not run. He strolled with confidence down the platform. He was a seventh year, he was an adult, he was of age, and he most definitely did not run through a platform towards his extended family and best friends.

"James, dear, there you are" Grandma Molly greeted him with a hug.

"Hey Gran. Hey Grandpa." He hugged Grandpa Arthur. For a few minutes (felt like hours), James went around greeting all of his family, and hugging and joking.

"Fred!" he called as soon as he saw his cousin, and best friend, join the group.

"Hey, James, what's up?"

The two boys hugged like they had not seen each other in a century. Truth is, they had both been grounded during the last week of holidays and had missed each other's company unhealthily too much.

"Hey James, finally out of the house are we?" Uncle George asked, grinning.

"Fred was awful. I actually think the punishment was absolutely useless, you guys probably came up with a thousand more crazy prank ideas." Fred's sister Roxanne mused. She was Fred's twin and the two were actually inseparably close, though they hated to admit it. The truth is, they did look a lot alike, but had completely different personalities, thank the Lord for Aunt Angelina. She already had Uncle George and Fred, no need for her daughter to be a prankster too.

A whistle blew, announcing that the train would be leaving in ten minutes. The Weasley children began waving and hugging goodbye to their parents, making way to the carriages in order to find decent compartments, and look for their friends and partners. James and Fred climbed on the train, eager to catch up on the longest week of their lives. They had a bunch of ideas for pranks to pull this year. It was their last and they had to leave a mark. I mean they were the grandson of a marauder AND the son of one of the Weasley Twins, the two greatest pranksters Hogwarts had ever seen, and they did not want to tarnish the names. They actually prided themselves in the number of white hairs they had brought to Headmistress McGonagall's tight bun. They hoped to break the record of detentions from both the Marauders and the Twins, but that was somewhat secondary.

Fred and James joined Albus, Rose and Alice Longbottom in a compartment and reserved the two seats next to the window. They searched for their parents in the crowd. And that, friends, is when James saw her. She was hugging a tall black haired man. He must have been over 6'5 and towered over the massive crowd. Even Uncle Charlie was not that tall. The girl must have been about his age and was pretty tall too; she was much taller than all the women around her. She had straight but messy shoulder-length dark brown hair. She was wearing a red T-shirt and black shorts, covered with a large black and red shirt. Headphones hung around her neck. At least James thought that's what they were; they looked a lot like the ones Aunt Hermione had bought Hugo for his last birthday. He knew they were used to listen to music and did not at Hogwarts, of course, being a Muggle invention.

"Hey, Fred, I've never seen that girl there, have you?"

"Who? Where?" He pointed to the girl. "Nope, never seen her, her face's not familiar at all. Could be that someone got a makeover."

"Nah, I don't think that's it, I mean look at the man with her. I've never seen him before and you don't miss a giant like that." James replied thoughtfully.

"True…" They both stared for a few seconds. "Man, look at those legs though." Fred whistled lowly.

"Are you hitting on someone already?" Rose butted in.

"It's that new girl there on the platform." James explained.

"She does have nice legs." Albus observed and Frank nodded in agreement.

"What pigs" Rose sighed in disapproval and despair. "What crazy disgusting pigs."

Marie Josephine Wright eyed the platform around her. It was busy, too busy, too loud. She noticed a particular bunch, redheads for the most part, that were particularly loud and obnoxious.

She envied her father's 6'5 and his ability to see above all the heads. Even though she herself was rather tall, 5'10 actually, there were still a lot of people taller than her.

"Well, I forgot how loud England was. Sure clashes with the atmosphere of Beauxbatons."

" _Papa_ , how could you forget how loud this place was! It's unbearable."

"Come on, you'll grow to love it." Her father replied. "Anyways, you better get going dearie. I have to go meet your _Maman_ on the other side of the barrier. She's going to start worrying I left her there."

"Sure." I hugged him tightly. "I'll write as soon as I get settled."

"Of course. And I want to hear about your sorting and your house and all."

She laughed softly in answer. Right, sorting… Hogwarts must really be one crazy place. She was bound to stick out. There were seldom transfers between the wizarding schools and much less for the last year of one's studies. If it weren't for her father's reputation in the British Ministry, the girl doubted she would have been allowed to go to Hogwarts. Marie Josephine picked up her bags and her courage and climbed on the train, doing her best to ignore the curious eyes on her. Between the younger students taking in her height and the older students wondering who she was, she just wanted to find a hole and stay there forever.

She found an empty compartment almost at the end of the train and dropped her bag and her trunk on the floor, racing to the window for a last glimpse of her father. She saw him go through the barrier and plumped down on a seat with a sigh. She put her trunk on the shelves and took off her well-worn Doc Martens shoes. She lied on the seat, propping her feet up against the wall. She put on her headphones and closed her eyes, hoping sleep would come soon. She was exhausted from the move to England that summer. Plus, she had been fairly nervous about being the only new student (except for first years) in this new school. Not that she would admit it of course.

She was lost in thought; slowly drifting into a half-sleeping half-awake state when something, or rather someone fell on top of her. She tried to sit back up but there was a dark-skinned, light-eyed boy crushing her. Another boy, brown eyed and brown-haired but with light skin was standing with his eyes wide opened.

" _Qu'est-ce que_ …" she began, taking off her headphones.

"Sorry about that." The first boy apologized, trying to get off of her.

"No worries." The other boy was now trying very hard to conceal laughter, making him look like a goldfish holding back. Hard.

"I think I tripped on your shoes when I came in" the first boy explained. "I'm Fred Weasley by the way."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Marie Josephine." She tried not to sound as star struck as she really was. She was standing in front of Fred Weasley, son of the WWW owner, which meant that the other boy was his best friend, cousin and partner in crime…

"I'm James Potter." The other boy extended his hand and shook Marie Josephine's.

"Hi."

"Sorry about disrupting your little nap." Fred said.

"Ah, no, don't worry about it."

"We really thought the compartment was empty." James explained. He was stuffing a strange cloak into his back pocket.

"So…" Fred said, noticing I was eyeing the cloak curiously. "That's one funny name you got there."

"Umm, I don't really know how I'm supposed to feel about that last statement."

They both laughed.

"Sorry. You're new right? I think we saw you on the platform. Was that your dad with you? He was bloody tall."

"Yeah that was him. I just moved from France, actually. I'm a seventh year."

"Oh, us too." James said cheerfully.

"So, have you already been sorted or are you still expecting?" Fred asked. Mare Josephine raised an eyebrow at his use of vocabulary but answered nonetheless.

"Nope, although I believe I'm either Hufflepuff or Slytherin. Less likely Slytherin, though. If he was really into purebloods like they say he was, a half-blood might not be well liked in his house."

"I see." Fred seemed a bit tense. James seemed to notice this.

"Sorry, Freddikins here still suffers from house discrimination." He explained playfully. "We're both proud Gryffindors. And Weasleys, that goes without saying." Marie Josephine smiled and Fred laughed full-heartedly, all awkwardness forgotten.

"Anyways, why'd you guys burst into my compartment?"

"Ah!" Fred mused, still grinning, "That, Marie Jo, is for us to know and you to find out." The girl raised an eyebrow at him (again).

"Listen, Brit, you're famous even in France and I know you both are pranksters and completely crazy, I just didn't think you were as hardcore as to start pranking people on the train!"

"Wow, sorry, no need to get angry, Frenchy." Marie Josephine glared at him.

"Are you a fangirl too?" James asked wearily.

"Nope, but I did share a dorm with tens of them for six years." He seemed to relax at that. "Jesus, fame sure doesn't seem fun." Marie Josephine muttered.

"It isn't." Fred answered.

"Mate, I think that was rhetorical." James whispered to his friend. They were now sitting in front of Marie Josephine, both intrigued by this new girl. Her knowing yet playful grin. The mischievous glint to her eyes. The incredible sense of comfort that hovered around her.

"Do you like Quidditch?" Fred asked after a minute of silence. Marie Josephine laughed. 'Damn, if we pulled the Quidditch card already, I think I'm going to struggle making friends. I mean these are supposed to be the most outgoing blokes in this country.' She thought, but answered nonetheless.

"Yep, love it. I played beater for Beauxbatons."

"Really? We're both beaters too!" James immediately went into Quidditch Captain mode. "Are you going to try to join the team from your house? It's a great opportunity to make friends and all."

"Well, depends. Since there's no real equivalence between French and British curriculums, I have to take an exam to see what classes I can and have to take. So it really depends on how many classes the Headmistress has me take."

"I see. You should try nonetheless, it's good fun." Before Marie Josephine could answer, Fred interrupted.

"Are you a school freak or something?"

"Nah, not really." Marie Josephine was a bit weary of Fred. He seemed to always ask the right questions about her character and she disliked having people read her so easily.

"Then why do you care?"

"Hey, I'm diving into unknown territory here, I just don't want to crash into the ground just yet, ok?"

They both laughed at her angry answer.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you angry." She smiled in answer.

"So tell me about Quidditch at Hogwarts."

"Well, Gryffindor has a real good team, mostly consisting of our family. Hufflepuff are not bad but their game is too nice so they end up losing to Slytherin, who tends to play dirty and cunning. Ravenclaw are good on technique and strategically they are probably the best, but they are physically weaker." James was in Quidditch mode again.

"So, a team's game reflects the house values. Meaning Gryffindor's weakness is recklessness and tendency to play individually, you know being "brave" and all."

Fred and James stared at her flabbergasted. She had completely understood the Gryffindor team without even seeing them play. "You are the two beaters. I suspect that you tend to get a lot of fouls against Slytherin, the dirtier they play, the more endangered your team, and family, is. So I'd say you two struggle more against Slytherin. But your Keeper struggles against Ravenclaw due to their better strategy. And your Chasers struggle most against Hufflepuff who play best as a team. Am I correct?"

The two boys didn't answer and just stared at the new girl.

"Wow. Ok, I give up, I can't be Captain." James finally broke the silence. "I mean you haven't even seen us play and you've already got us figured out."

"Damn, girl." Fred was looking at Marie Josephine with pure admiration. The girl laughed and gave him a smug look.

"Ok, now you're creeping me out a lil', Weasley." Fred shook himself out of the stupor he was in. His family was full of great Quidditch players and he knew Oliver Wood, the Oliver Wood himself, and he'd never seen such an analysis.

"Marie Jo, please come to Gryffindor to coach us, please, pretty please?"

James pleaded making puppy eyes.

"Ermmm, not going to happen, I'd much rather kick your sorry butts."

"You're mean." James pouted like a small child. Marie Josephine rolled her eyes.

"Do you speak French?" Fred asked.

"A bit out of the subject there, Freddikins." James laughed.

"Shut it. So, do you?"

"Of course! I've lived there my whole life!"

"Oh, ok, it's just your English is so perfect, I didn't know."

"My dad's British, my mum's French. Dad's the wizard, mum's the Muggle."

"Oh, I see. Our cousins Victoire, Dominique and Louis speak French too."

"Really?"

"Yep, their mum is French. I'm sure you've heard of Fleur Delacour."

"Of course I have, do you really think I live in a cave? I just didn't know if their kids spoke French. I shared a dorm with her niece, Juliette Cartier, Gabrielle Cartier, born Delacour's daughter."

"Oh, yeah we met her once or twice. Gabrielle doesn't really like our family too much. And her daughter is a bit… superficial." James said with a shudder while Fred gave him a sympathetic look.

"Superficial? She's a total airhead! Have you heard her talk? Her voice is AWFUL. You have no idea what it is to sleep in her dorm for six years. She made me want to pull my hair out."

"Wow, so much hatred, girl." Fred responded to her outburst with sympathy, but also a lopsided grin. James on the other hand was nodding like he could not have said better himself.

The three kept chatting on and on about France and Britain, comparing, contrasting and discovering the countries through each other's experiences. They stopped only to buy some candy from the trolley. Marie Josephine bought several chocolate frogs, eager to get cards from British wizards.

"Well, Marie Jo, Jamesie-poo and I are gonna go change into our robes, you probably should too. We left our stuff in another compartment a bit further down."

"Oh, ok then. See you later."

"See you at the feast." James said as he shut the compartment door. Marie Josephine slid the curtains close and locked the door, remembering how the boys had interrupted her a few hours earlier. She changed into her school robes, and was trying to stuff her Docs into her trunk when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it and met four boys dressed in robes standing in the doorway.

"Hi, what can I do for you?"

"Hello, you're Marie Josephine Wright aren't you? My dad was the man that arranged for you to come to Hogwarts this year. I'm Paul Hesforth." Marie Josephine shook his extended hand. "And this here is Rupert Addison, Ernie Salisbury and Samuel Greene."

"Pleasure boys. And please thank your dad, Paul, he really helped a lot."

"I'm sure" he answered, taking a seat in the compartment. Marie Josephine levitated her trunk back to the shelf as the other boys sat around her. Unlike with Fred and James, she did not feel at ease with these four boys and she sat wearily, expecting the worse. The boys made small talk with her for a little until Paul, who had sat down on her side of the bench, began scooting closer to the girl and slung his arm over her shoulder. Marie Josephine froze for a second. Were boys usually this open? I mean Fred and James had seemed open and they had not invaded her private space like that. Or maybe that's how boys flirted here. But even though Paul was attractive, she was not looking for a boyfriend or anything. The instant of hesitation cost her dearly and before she knew it Ernie had locked the door and Paul was reaching for the girl's thigh. Marie Josephine wanted to scream but Paul's other hand stopped her from it. Squirming away from his grip, she reached for her wand and pulled it out.

"IMMOBILUS!" she shouted. The four boys immediately stopped moving. Marie Josephine looked at them for a second and then gestured for the door to open and threw the four boys in the corridor with a wave of her wand. People came rushing out of their compartments at the sound of their bodies hitting the wall.

"You witch, how could you?" Paul growled standing back up. The first spell had worn out. Marie Josephine walked back into her compartment but before she could close the door, Paul grabbed her wrist. She punched him with her free arm and kicked his shin as hard as she could. The boy fell to the floor cursing Marie Josephine with all his life. Before the girl could breathe Samuel threw himself at her. She sidestepped and he ran into the train window at the end of the compartment. She kicked him hard in the groin from behind and he fell too. Turning her attention to Rupert who had now joined the fight, she skived a punch only to receive another one in the ribs. Groaning, she threw herself onto Rupert's back and began hitting his head. The boy tried getting rid of her but she was faster and jumped onto the seat. Using her height, she kicked him to the ground. Finally, Marie Josephine turned to Ernie, who just picked up his friends and ran away.

"What in Merlin's name was THAT?" a voice called. Marie Josephine stuck her head out of the compartment only to see Fred and James standing bewildered in the corridor, looking at Paul and his clique run away.

"Did you just, forgive my words, kick their ass?"

Marie Josephine couldn't help laughing at her friends' faces. She shrugged and went back into the compartment. She felt her ribs and tensed when her hand ran over the place where Rupert had punched her. She was sure it was going to bruise, but nothing appeared broken. Thank God they hadn't hit her face, it would have been hard to explain to the Headmistress she had already gotten in a fight before even arriving to school.

"Well, Marie Jo, I'm impressed. You have yet to prove that there is something you can't do." Fred mused entering the compartment.

"Yeah well, I hope they don't get me in trouble. I haven't even set foot in Hogwarts and I already got in a fight."

"Nah, I mean they're the ones that'll show bruises so I don't think they'll want to go around saying they got beat up by the new chick." James replied.

"Anyways, we'll be arriving soon. We were wondering if you wanted to come over meet the family. They were curious about this new girl we've 'befriended'." Fred made bracket motions with his fingers.

"Umm, sure…" Marie Josephine grabbed her trunk and her bag and followed the boys down the carriage. A bit further, two compartments were filled with redheads laughing and chatting loudly.

James and Fred knocked on the doors and all the occupants turned their heads and instantly piled up at the door to get a better look at the new girl.

"Well, you must be Marie Jo. I'm Roxanne, Fred's twin, pleased to meet you." A girl said extending her hand for Marie Josephine to shake.

"Hi."

"Hello, I'm Molly, seventh year as well, and Head Girl. Pleasure."

"Nice to meet you Molly."

"I'm Rose, this is Albus. We're fifth years. Nice beating you gave the boys back there."

"Thanks." Marie Josephine laughed uncomfortably.

"I'm Dom, sixth year, nice to meet you. Tell me, how did you get these two idiots to talk to you? I mean, them making friends with a girl is… somewhat weird."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Well, you see, these two went from 'Ew, girls have cooties!' to 'Let's snog every decent bird in this school'. Making friends with them is nothing short of an achievement."

"Oh, I guess it's just that I would have beaten the crap out of them too had they tried anything inappropriate with me." James and Fred laughed heartedly.

"I'm Lucy, fourth year. Pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Hugo, nice to meet you. Will you teach me how to do that sending people flying into the hallway thing?"

"Umm sure, if you want."

"I'm Lily, pleased to meet you. Don't let my brother corrupt you, hear me?"

"Okay, okay, I won't don't worry!" Everyone laughed at Lily's worried face. They chatted for a little and were interrupted when a loud whistle was heard.

"Ah, we're almost there. Grab your stuff guys. I have to go back to the Head Carriage, Albus, Rose, you should get ready to round people up to go to the carriages. I'll see you at the feast, okay?" Molly asked. She grabbed her trunk and headed out.

"Small question, what are Heads?" Marie Josephine whispered as soon as she was out of earshot.

"Oh, well you see in fifth year you can be appointed prefect. It means you have more rights, as well as more responsibilities. Every year, the Headmistress picks two students, a boy and a girl, to be Head Students. They are sort of the prefect bosses."

"Oh, nice, I was a bit confused by what Molly was telling me." They all laughed. The train eventually came to a halt and all the students began filing out onto the platform. It was a mess of forgotten bags, mixed up trunks and what not. Marie Josephine did her best not to step on anyone as she awkwardly carried her trunk out of the train.


	2. Chapter 2

"First years, this way, please!" A loud booming voice echoed. Marie Josephine turned around only to see a half giant waving at the end of the platform.

"Excuse me, but you must be Marie Josephine Wright, correct?" a female voice called from behind her. A mid-height witch was walking her way, pushing through the crowd of students.

"Yes, that would be me."

"Ah, thank Merlin I found you. I must say, you quite stick out in a crowd."

"Indeed, I wish I didn't. I feel like I've been stared at all day long."

"I imagine, we don't usually get new students except for first years. I'm Professor Vector, deputy Headmistress, as well as Head of Ravenclaw and Arithmancy teacher." The woman introduced herself. She was quite a bit shorter than Marie Josephine, which made the girl feel somewhat awkward. She had long straight hair and wore deep blue robes, and hat with bronze linings. She recognized the colors of Ravenclaw that her dad was proud to wear anytime he could.

"Pleasure."

"I'm here to take you to the Headmistress. We thought it would be best if you were sorted separately and joined your fellow students for the feast rather than be sorted with the first years. Oh, and you can leave your trunk on the platform, it will directly be taken to your dormitory once you know what House you belong in."

"Thank you, that's very considerate of you." Professor Vector took Marie Josephine's hand and they apparated to the Headmistress office, where an elderly looking witch wearing dark green robes and the tightest bun possible awaited them.

"I thought you could not apparate to Hogwarts, Professor." Marie Josephine asked.

"Well, let's say that with responsibility comes privilege, yes? I will leave you with Headmistress McGonagall, I have to go down to orient the students' arrival to the Great Hall."

"Thank you, Professor." The woman left the room, leaving Marie Josephine and the tight-bunned witch in awkward silence.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Ms. Wright, I hope you had a pleasant ride."

"Yes, thank you very much, Headmistress. And thank you for having me this year, I must have caused you an awful lot of trouble."

"Oh, well, better than you not completing your education, Ms. Wright. Please have a seat, the Sorting Hat has a few things to tell you." She placed an old hat on Marie Josephine's head and pointed her to one of the chairs. The girl sat down, wearily waiting for the Hat to say something, just like what James and Fred had explained.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Ms. Wright." A voice said in her head.

"Why, thank you." Marie Josephine replied playfully, tired of hearing the same line over and over.

"Well, quite the attitude we have here." The Hat chuckled. "You know, I must tell you, I quite dislike Sorting older people. When you are still children, it is easy to pinpoint who you are, but when you are older; your character is more complicated, hiding new depths. But I'm sure we'll find a spot for you." Marie Josephine swallowed hard. She was relieved by the Hat's honesty but his comment did not make her feel that comfortable either.

"Your father was a Ravenclaw, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"But you are not. You are very much like him, witty and clever but you are much too reckless and impulsive to belong in Ravenclaw. Perhaps in Gryffindor. It would suit you."

"Well, you see, I don't know. I've met two Gryffindors on my way here and I would feel terrible to take their spot as beaters on their team." The Hat laughed.

"I see. Ambition, yet considerate ambition. Slytherin or Hufflepuff?" the Hat mused. It seemed lost in thought, remembering other students that had been in the same predicament as her. "You know, as I look in your memories I would like to say you are a perfect Slytherin. Especially the one from the train just now." Marie Josephine blushed slightly. "Yet I also see that you are more and more of a Hufflepuff, hard-working and dedicated, and your tendency to think of others before yourself might not be suited for Slytherin... Hufflepuff it will be." The last sentence had been said out loud so that the Headmistress heard it too.

"Very well, Ms. Wright, let me get you some Hufflepuff gear. Your trunk and bag will be waiting for you in your dormitory." She left the room into a back study, and Marie Josephine was left alone in the cluttered yet organized office. There were books and books with colorful covers and magical artifacts she had never seen before. She was intrigued by a particularly beautiful sword in a glass case. Coming closer, she read 'Sword of Gryffindor'. She recalled the History books her father had bought her that summer, in order for her to learn a bit about British history, and especially about the Two Wizarding Wars, in which Hogwarts had played an important part. She wandered around the office a bit longer until the Headmistress came back.

"Here you go, two ties and one scarf for you." She said handing her the black and yellow colored accessories.

"Thank you." Marie Josephine put on one of the ties and stuffed the rest into her pocket.

"Well, all is settled here. Come up tomorrow after breakfast, I'll test you myself in order to see what classes you may take. For now let's go down for dinner, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am." Marie Josephine followed the Headmistress out of her office and down the maze of corridors and staircases. She was absolutely positive she would not remember how to get to the Headmistress's office the next morning. They finally made it to the Great Hall. It was beautiful, the enchanted night sky, the candles floating, the chatter of the students and the shining silverware. It was so different from Beauxbatons. Where her old school was Renaissance styled, Hogwarts castle was Medieval, where her old castle was light colored, full of elegance and _delicatesse_ , Hogwarts was stony, rustic and absolutely perfect. It fit Marie Josephine so much better than Beauxbatons where she had always felt a bit odd. She walked to a table on her left where dozens of other students in yellow ties were sitting. She was looking for students that seemed her age when someone grabbed her from behind.

"Excuse me if I'm mistaken, but you're that new girl from France, are you not?" Marie Josephine turned to find a pretty attractive boy about her height smiling nicely at her.

"Yes, that would be me. I'm Marie Josephine."

"Pleasure, I'm Grant Ward, Head Boy and fellow Hufflepuff, I see."

"Yes, I just got sorted."

"Nice. Please come and sit with me and my friends."

"Uh, thanks, I really don't want to impose."

"Oh, not at all. Besides, it's sort of my job to make new students feel welcome, be it be first or seventh years." She smiled at the boy, strangely relieved by how nice he was. He pulled her towards the middle of the table where two girls and another boy were sitting.

"Hey there Gemma, Daisy, Leo, this is Marie Josephine, she's new."

The three looked up. Gemma and Leo were sitting on the other side of the table while Daisy had to turn around to look at the new arrival.

"Hello, pleased to meet you."

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Marie Josephine!" Gemma smiled the brightest smile Marie Josephine had ever seen.

"Yeah, have a seat." Daisy patted the bench next to her. She sat down with Ward on her other side.

"So, where're you from?" Leo asked, with the most impressive Scottish accent ever.

"France, I went to Beauxbatons up until last year. We moved back here for my father's work."

"Oh, so you're actually British?" Gemma asked.

"Yep, dad's British, mum's French."

"Cool… I was wondering how come your English was so good." Marie Josephine did not have time to answer because the doors opened to reveal Professor Vector and a line of small first years. Everyone quieted down as the new students walked in between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Marie Josephine spotted the Sorting Hat on a stool at the front of the room, right in front of the teacher's table. The first years all looked incredibly nervous and excited, and she could not help thinking back to her own self barely half an hour before.

When all the first years were Sorted, Headmistress McGonagall gave a short speech before clapping her hands and the food appeared on the tables. Everyone tucked in and for some time, all that could be heard was the clinking of silverware. Soon, chatter was added as everyone was catching up on their holidays. Marie Josephine did not talk too much as Ward, Leo, Daisy and Gemma were busy recounting tales about their homes. She took in everything around her, the colors, the noises, the warmth, the atmosphere. She looked at the teachers and found herself hoping she would get some of them while she wished to avoid others.

Finally the tables were cleared and the students began heading to their Common Rooms. Grant and Gemma had to go round up students, so Marie Josephine stuck with Leo and Daisy. She followed them down a flight of stairs and through a few corridors. Soon, they were standing in front of a wall. May other Hufflepuffs were filing while they all made their way through a door that appeared only if you pressed one stone to the left. On the wall across from the Hufflepuff entrance was a large painting of fruit and Marie Josephine couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous idea of a painting of a fruit in a wizarding school.

The girls' Seventh Year dorm was on the third flight of stairs. Daisy and Marie Josephine had waited in the Common Room for Gemma to finish helping all the first years and were finally heading to bed. Daisy pushed the door open and three girls looked up from their beds.

"Hiya, everyone!" Gemma greeted happily. "Good to be back, innit?"

"Hey Gemma. Hello there Daisy, nice haircut." One of the girls greeted. "And, I guess you're the one to whom belongs the new bed. I'm Sarah, pleased to meet you."

"Hi, I'm Marie Josephine."

"Sweet name you got there. I'm Lisa."

"I'm Paula. Welcome to Hufflepuff!"

"Thanks, I'm sorry to crowd your dorm like this."

"Nah, don't you worry." Paula reassured with a wink. "It just means more gossip material."

Instantly the five girls began chatting about this and that and how some boys had nicely grown over the summer and what not. Marie Josephine headed towards the bed where her bag and trunk awaited. She grabbed some pajamas, clean underwear and headed for the bathroom: she needed a shower and some time alone. All this English was beginning to give her a monster headache. She took her time, enjoying the warm water, the smell of her shampoo, all those things that were familiar, even though she was very far from home. She brushed her teeth with her strawberry flavored toothpaste, another memory of home, of the warm French countryside where she loved spending her weekends.

When she came out of the bathroom, the topsy-turviness of Hogwarts hit her full in the face again.

"Did you hear what happened on the train though?" Paula was asking.

"Nope, what?"

"Well, Martha Steward told me that apparently the Pervs got the crap beaten out of them. She didn't see it happen but she saw them running by with their robes all ripped up and bleeding noses and everything!" She continued.

"Wow, please let me kiss and worship whoever did that." Daisy replied. They all laughed.

"Umm, actually…" Marie Josephine said shyly, "I was the one who bet the crap out of them."

"WHAT?" the five girls looked at her with a mix of admiration and surprise.

"Merlin, now I have to kiss you…" Daisy muttered. They all went back to laughing.

"Seriously, though" Gemma tried between fits of laughter, "You got in a fight in the train on the way here? I'm pretty sure that's some kind of record."

"They were trying to feel me up. Actually at first I only immobilized them, they just came back for more. I actually think I have a bruise from Rupert punching me."

"Ouchies. Want me to look at that? I'm training to be a healer I'm good at healing spells" Lisa, the quietest, offered.

"Umm, yeah please." Marie Josephine lifted a bit of her shirt to show her where the bruise was. It was already a dark blue blotch with small patches of yellow all around.

"Nothing seems broken, thankfully." Lisa said after looking at the bruise. She muttered a spell and the bruise faded a bit. "This will only speed up the healing process, avoid anymore fights for the next two days or so, okay?"

"Sure, I'll try." They all laughed a little. "Thank you so much."

"Oy, Fred, James, how are you? How was your summer?" Lee Jordan greeted when they sat down at the Gryffindor table before the beginning of term feast.

"Well, pretty dull compared to what just happened on the train." James joked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well…" Fred began. "There's this new girl in seventh year and we kind of invaded her compartment by accident."

"How do you invade someone's compartment by accident?" Oscar Wood asked, butting into the conversation.

"Let him finish, Oscar."

"So, as I was saying, this new girl is a total Quidditch prodigy. I think James drooled."

"Did not! She just managed to analyze the problems of our team against each of the other teams just from a quick cover of the playing styles of each of them. It was freaky dude."

"Mate, I want to meet her." Oscar Wood was just as obsessed and fanatic about Quidditch as his father (and family) were.

"Oh, but that's not all she did man. She beat the crap out of Paul and Co. Like singlehandedly handled those pervs!" The four boys had a particular hatred for Paul and his friends. Usually they did not mind other boys' business, but they all had sisters and cousins with whom the four had tried to flirt with and that was not acceptable. Their distaste for Paul and Co bordered profound hate, yet they usually did not face them directly, preferring more subtle approaches such as heavily humiliating pranking and what not.

"Wait, she's the one who kicked their ass?" Lee asked. "We saw them running by our compartment in a mess. Dudes, you got to introduce her to me."

"Absolutely. Though we don't know what house she'll be in and she didn't seem convinced by Gryffindor. I just hope she doesn't go into Slytherin. It's not that I've got anything against them, but I don't want the first girl I have ever properly befriended to end up in there." James pointed out.

"Same here dude. Plus her Common Room would be so far away, it'd suck for sneaking out." Fred agreed.

It was at that moment that Marie Josephine entered the Hall with Headmistress McGonagall. Fred felt strangely disappointed that she was no longer wearing her attractive black shorts. You could still guess her curvy figure through her Hogwarts robes though. She was a little taller than McGonagall, and that's when Fred realized she really was tall for a girl. She had been sitting down for most of their encounter on the train.

"Oh, that's her. Guess she got into Hufflepuff." James pointed out, breaking Fred's train of thought.

"Man, she's cute." Wood breathed. The four Gryffindor boys gaped at her for a second.

"Is that Wart talking to her?" The four Gryffindor boys had nicknamed the Head Boy according to a prank they had pulled on him in fourth year. They also despised Grant Ward, as he loved ratting them out whenever someone pulled a prank. Sometimes it was not even them! He hated James and Fred particularly, who were the biggest pranksters. Lee and Oscar only joined in from time to time. They were more of the 'disrupt in class' than 'planned pranking' type. But when the four got their brains together on a prank, you better be stuck in the Hospital Wing and avoid hallways and class as much as possible. Plus, their group consisted of descendants of the Marauders and the Twins, which meant Peeves respected them almost as much as professor McGonagall, and that sure is saying a lot.

"Damn that jerk, I swear to Merlin, if he does anything to her, he's dead."

"Don't worry, Jamesie, she'll probably just castrate him on the spot." Lee teased. They laughed cheerfully at the idea of their nemesis cringing in pain, bent over on the ground as their new idol stood proud and tall above him.

"You know, I think she broke our record. She broke the school rules before even being at school." Wood managed to breathe between fits of laughter. By now, the Sorting had begun but the four boys just could not stop laughing.

After the feast, the boys went up to the Common Room as quickly as they could, hoping to get their favorite couches in front of the fire. They raced past younger students and even in front of the first years. Rose and Albus had given them the passwords in the train, so they could sneak in before the prefects. They were first in the Common Room and immediately jumped to their favorite seats.

"Man, it's good to be back." Lee said lazily as he sank into one of the couches.

"It sucks that we've got classes tomorrow. I like it better when September First falls on a Friday or a Saturday." Wood muttered from under a pillow.

"Dude, do you have to go all depressive on us?" Lee replied.

"Sorry." They sat quiet for a moment. " So when do we get to meet the new girl."

"Her name's Marie Jo, Oscar."

"Yeah, whatever, I just gotta go pay my respects for handling the pervs. I mean they literally tried to shove Minnie in a broom closet by force last year!" He tensed at the memory of his older sister crying in the Common Room after the boys had molested her. Usually they were pretty popular with girls but a few of them resisted their superficial charms. And Minerva had been one of those. She was tough as can be and Oscar had never seen her cry in his entire life. She had always been the one to make fun of Oscar for being a crybaby when he was younger.

"Don't worry Oscar, we're bound to have some class with her so we'll talk with her."

"What's she taking?" Lee asked.

"She doesn't know." Fred informed him. "Apparently she's taking a test with McGonagall tomorrow since there's no real equivalence between curriculums. But she seemed pretty handy. I mean she threw an Immobilus spell on four people."

"True, that's usually a spell for small creatures." James really was curious about this girl. She seemed really laid back but at the same time she was really smart and observant. She almost reminded him of his dad's godfather Sirius Black. He smiled. Oh how he wished he had met the Marauders, his grandfather and his friends and all those people that fought so that his future could be better than their present.

"Well…" yawned Fred. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to hit the dorm." The other three nodded and followed him up to the Seventh Year Boys' dormitory. When they entered, their other three dorm mates were already there, eating chocolate Bertie Bott's Flavored Beans.

"Hey everyone, good to be back, yeah?" They greeted upon coming in. Even after sharing their dorm for six years, the seven Gryffindor boys were clearly divided into two groups and were quite awkward with each other, particularly in the beginning of term. They all got ready for bed and fell asleep before you could say 'Quidditch'.

The next morning, they all woke up really late and entered the Hall a complete mess.

"Why, hello there, sleepy heads, long time no see." Roxanne greeted. She got along well with the four boys, even though she did not participate much in their crazy antics. She was as much like her mother as Fred was like his father and they completed each other perfectly, as twins should.

"'Lo Roxy, nice to see you too, lovely sister of my heart. Has Neville already handed out schedules?"

"Nah, we're still waiting. I hope he didn't lose any this year though." They all laughed at Neville Longbottom's forgetfulness. They knew him quite well, as he was a close friend of the Weasleys. But he required that they addressed him as Professor Longbottom when at Hogwarts to avoid problems with parents and favoritism. When Neville had been appointed Head of Gryffindor a few years back, he had been honored. But his clumsy and forgetful personality made him quite a disorganized Head of House and that was probably why he was not Deputy Headmaster. Everyone knew McGonagall had a particular fondness for Gryffindors.

"Oh well… I hope our schedules aren't too crazy, I mean with NEWTs this year and all. We're gonna die." Lee complained stuffing his mouth with pumpkin pastries. His three friends were doing just the same and Roxanne rolled her eyes at the spectacular gracefulness of the male population of Hogwarts.

"Hello, everyone, welcome back. It's great to see you all looking fresh and ready to die studying for NEWTs." Professor Longbottom greeted upon arriving at their place at the table.

"'Lo, Professor, how're you?" James greeted. He had agreed to call Neville Professor but particularly enjoyed addressing him in an exaggerated friendly manner. Neville did not mind too much, but it infuriated McGonagall, making it all the more worthwhile.

"Good, thank you, James. Now here're your schedules. Wood, please remove your feet from the table, will you? Fred, here's your schedule. And here's yours Roxanne. Jordan, stop poking Molly, please. Here's your schedule. And here's yours Molly. And there's yours James. So far, I haven't lost any, I must say I'm quite proud of myself."

"Wow, Professor, and you're nearly at the end of the table. I must say I'm impressed." Fred grinned at his teacher, who couldn't help but laugh.

"Merlin, Fred, I can't believe this is the last schedule related joke you're going to make." Neville replied sadly.

"Now, don't go all nostalgic on us, Professor." Oscar said in what he meant to be a soothing voice. Unfortunately he was trying to conceal his laughter and it came out as a chocked grunt. That sent everyone into fits of laughter once more.

"Well, I'll see Roxanne and Lee in Herbology later today. All of you have dropped the class for NEWTs, right?"

"Yeah, sorry Professor." James felt really bad. He had loved Herbology but it wasn't required for the job of Obliviator he wanted to take on after Hogwarts and preferred to take more advanced Charms and Transfigurations classes. Roxanne wanted to go into healing school so she needed Herbology, and Lee was hoping to follow his mother's footsteps and work in herbological research at St Mungo's. Oscar and Fred wanted to play Quidditch professionally, but had of course plan Bs. Fred wanted to work at his father's shop, and Oscar could always become a Quidditch reporter.

Their first class of the day was option one and was only at ten o'clock. Seventh years only had classes later, for the only reason that there were less people in the library in the mornings, allowing them to study away from annoying lower years. This also implied that their classes ended much later, but they couldn't complain. They all took different things as option one: Roxanne and Molly had Arithmancy, James Muggle Studies, Fred took Care of Magical Creatures, Lee took Ancient Runes and Oscar had Divination. The four boys had all been required by their teachers at the end of second year to chose different options as they would be too much of a nuisance all together in the same class. So even though Oscar also took Muggle studies, he had had to place that as his second option. Their parents had been right mad at them but they had just laughed it off.


	3. Chapter 3

Marie Josephine looked at Fred and James from across the Hall. They were sitting with Molly, Roxanne and two other boys she did not know. She sighed. Houses sucked. The only friends she had made were already caught up in their lives. And even though the girls in her dorm were nice they were so girly and gossipy. They woke up hyper early to get ready when Marie Josephine only needed to wake up fifteen minutes before breakfast and still managed to be on time when they didn't. Leo was sweet but a little shy and Ward was a right down idiot. He had a broomstick up his ass, that was for sure. Hot, definitely, but stuck up.

After breakfast, she was supposed to meet the Headmistress for a quick test of her abilities as a witch. She was a little worried. Sure, she was smart but she was lazy. She didn't work more than what was asked, and more often than not she did barely that. She had the ability to multi-task so even though she did not pay attention in class, she was able to remember things her friends did not. Sighing, she picked her bag and left the Hall unnoticed. She had asked the girls how to get to the Headmistress's office and focused on the turns and staircases Gemma had told her to take. Ten minutes later, she found herself in front of a Griffin statue that she recognized as the entrance to McGonagall's office. She sighed in relief.

"Ms. Wright, glad to see you found your way. How are you today?" Professor McGonagall asked from behind her.

"Hello Professor! Yes I asked Gemma for some help."

"Good, good. Ginger Newt" she said and the Griffin spun revealing a spiral staircase. Marie Josephine climbed the stairs behind the Headmistress. She motioned for her to sit at the chair across from her at the desk.

"I'm going to quickly test you. May I ask, first of all, what you wish to do after you are done with Hogwarts?"

"Well, I would like to play Quidditch professionally, but I'd like to work with dragons afterwards."

"Well, that sure is ambitious."

"I know, but technically realistic. I have been on Beauxbaton's Quidditch team since my first year, and I've already had a scout contact me in France. My parents only required I finished my seventh year. But then we moved here so the deal was cut off."

"Oh, I see. And what about dragons?"

"Well, at first I thought about Magical Creatures in general, but then I read this interesting article about dragons being the least understood magical creatures. Even more than Centaurs, who are actually really cut out from human society. So that spurt my interest for dragons more specifically. Especially because there are still many species to discover…"

"Yes, I get the idea, Ms. Wright. You do realize that a Quidditch carrier is extremely short so you're going to have to take the courses you would take if you were going into dragon studies. Which means that you need quite a few NEWTs. Now your grades from Beauxbatons show you're a really good student only you do not work for subjects that do not interest you and are, how do you say it? Laid back? You remind me very much of Sirius Black and James Potter. They were quite the lazy and prankster type, but geniuses and powerful wizards."

"Oh." Marie Josephine did not know what to say. She was being compared to two of the most famous heroes of the British Wizarding Wars. Even though she was trying her hardest not to hyperventilate and blush, she was positively failing.

"Well, then what classes am I required to take?"

"Transfiguration, Advanced Potions and Charms, Defense, Advanced Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. Those are the requirements. You're welcome to take one other of these five options." McGonagall handed her a piece of parchment. "Of course, you don't have too, but I strongly advise Ancient Runes. It will be a plus over other candidates, and a lot of documents about dragons are written in ancient languages."

"Well, I took Ancient Runes and Civilizations in Beauxbatons, I'm sure I'll manage that class. But they didn't require for me to take Herbology, so I don't know how that'll happen."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure Professor Longbottom will be glad to tell you about a few books you can read, and he'll surely let you have access to the greenhouses of the younger years if you need to."

"That would be great, thank you professor. And do you think I could fit Arithmancy too?"

"Well, yes, but are you sure you want that much work? Arithmancy is one of the most difficult courses we've got."

"I am well aware, Headmistress, but I have never struggled in Arithmancy before, I believe I will manage, thank you."

"Well, if you think so. In Transfiguration, we work on human transfiguration for the most part of seventh year. And then there's moving transfiguration: transfiguring living and non living objects into mobile and fully functioning objects."

"Oh, I think I'll be fine with both of those." Marie Josephine transfigured her brown eyes to pink and back to prove her point. The she pointed her want to the other chair and transfigured in to a cat and back."

"Very good, Ms. Wright. For charms, you need to cover charms with up to four words, as well as some simple non-verbal spells. Those will mostly be for Defense as well."

"Four? Oh, um, maybe I'll need help for charms then, I don't think it's quite the same as what we covered in France. But I can do a few simple silent spells though."

"Alright, I shall see with Professor Astons if we can schedule some extra hours at least for the first term. For Defense, our program is rather intense, so you might be a bit behind. In seventh year, we do a sort of review of the previous year, studying both creatures of the Dark and dueling and such."

"I honestly believe Defense will not be a problem professor, but I will talk with Professor Thomas if I find myself struggling."

"If you wish. For Care, perhaps we should try and find an arrangement similar as for Herbology, yes. I'm sure Professor Hagrid would love to have you keep him some company after class. And finally Potions."

"Well, to be honest, it depends on the type of potion. I am not too bad at healing potions but others I am rather terrible. I quite dislike Potions, you know." The Headmistress did not answer for a second, and Marie Josephine feared she had said something wrong.

"Well, there's not much I can do about that Ms. Wright. You need your NEWT in advanced Potions or you can say goodbye to your career with dragons."

"Very well, then I'll work for Potions and I'll get my NEWT." McGonagall nodded in aprovement. With a flick of her wand, she conjured a parchment with Marie Josephine's schedule. Since she was taking an extra option, she had no free periods. Plus she had to take extra Herbology and Care. Plus Potions. The girl held back a constricted sigh. 'Well, that's what ambition gets you, sweetie.' She thought bitterly.

"As for Quidditch, we have scouts that come to all the games throughout the year. We haven't yet decided when try-outs will be held; I'll be meeting with the Captains for scheduling. I suggest you look for your House's Captain, Mr. Fletchley. He's in sixth year."

"Okay, thank you very much Professor, and sorry for taking up so much of your time."

"Don't worry about me, Ms. Wright. It is my job to see that the most students finish Hogwarts successfully and enter the adult world prepared for whatever may come their way." Marie Josephine did not know what to answer to that last statement. "Well, Ms. Wright, first period has yet to finish, and I reckon it is useless for you to go to your Ancient Runes class. I suggest you learn to find your way in the castle, as well as who has the same class as you do. It might be useful. In NEWT level classes, as the number of students is a bit lower and you are already divided between advanced and normal levels, you share with everyone else in your year, all Houses mixed, do you understand?"

"Yes professor. Thank you very much."

"As for your books, I assume you haven't bought them."

"No."

"Well, we usually have a few extras in case students change courses, so just ask your teachers and they'll give you one. Otherwise, share until you can have your parents send them to you, yes?"

"Alright."

"Please stop by if you need anything, Ms. Wright, and good luck."

"Of course, Professor. Bye." Marie Josephine closed the door of the office and sighed. She was going to die. She was so going to die. She actually sort of wanted to cry. She had never been the kind of girl to cry but she really felt like it at that moment. She had had no time over the summer to just rest and enjoy. It was like last year and this year were just following each other. And now she was all alone in this creepy old school with stonewalls and cold rooms and this country with the worst weather possible.

"Marie Jo, is that you?" she heard someone call. Turning around she saw James leaning against the wall.

"What the… Shouldn't you be in class?" she asked. His appearance had immediately erased all teary thoughts she had been having. If those girls from her dorm were already rubbing off on her, she was going to end up some stupid fangirl by Christmas time.

"Not the point here. Has McGonagall finished torturing you?"

"Yeah, she was really cool. I have a crappy schedule though."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Hope we'll share some classes."

"Me too. Are you skipping?"

"Nah, I was talking to this girl and the teacher got mad. He kicked me out."

"I can't believe it! Am I going to have to beat the crap out of you like I did the pervs?" She was grinning broadly by this point.

"Nah, the girl was responsive. I'd never impose on a girl like that. It's plain disrespectful."

"Glad to know you were brought up correctly, gentleman."

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes at her, all the while grinning back. He really liked Marie Josephine despite having known for less than twenty-four hours. He did not want her to feel like he did not want to make friends with her because he really did and honestly, she was going to have a hard time getting to know people who had shared each other's lives for six long years.

"So, what class do you have next, Marie Jo?"

"Advanced Herbology."

"Oh, Lee has that too."

"Lee?"

"Yeah, he's one of my dorm mates. Cool bloke, you'll like him. And Roxy is taking Herbology too. But I don't know if she's taking the advanced course as well."

"Sweet. I'm so scared of classes, I feel like I won't understand a thing."

"What do you mean? Here, the Greenhouses are this way."

"Oh, thanks. Well, you see I speak English with my dad but all of the vocab around school and classes, I don't know in English. I mean I'm taking Care and I don't know how to say half the names of the creatures in the first place!" James laughed at her frantic rant.

"Don't worry. The caretaker's my godfather, I'm sure I can get him to like you and help out if you need."

"You mean Professor Hagrid the giant is your godfather?"

"Yep. Right you are."

"Cool, I wish my godparents were giants. All I have is a stuck up French snob and a workaholic Auror!"

They joked around until they reached the greenhouses. They were a bit early so no one was in front of the class just yet. Professor Longbottom was lecturing a class of second years about safety measures and all. Usual first day of term lectures, to be honest. They still had half an hour to wait for the start of the next class and Marie Josephine spent all that time asking for directions from James. She had no idea how to get to the different floors, much less which wing she was supposed to be in.

"Hey, James!" someone called from further down the hallway. James and Marie Josephine stood up from the ground where they had sat.

"Hey Lee, meet Marie Jo."

"Hi."

"Marie Jo? As in the new girl that gave the pervs a beating."

"The one and only. News sure travel fast."

"Don't worry Marie Jo," James reassured upon seeing her flustered look, "Hogwarts is one bloody gossip mill, in a week, something else will have happened and everyone will have forgotten."

"Yeah, I doubt that. Marie Jo made quite the impression there." Roxanne joked upon arrival.

"She has a point, James." Lee replied. "I mean, not even Oscar's sis' managed to stick up to them and we know she was one crazy girl."

"True that, mate." They laughed at Marie Josephine who appeared to be growing more and more worried each passing second. Great, she already had a reputation!

"Okay class, please come in!" Professor Longbottom called from inside the greenhouse.

"Alright, guys, I'll see you at lunch!" James waved as he raced down the hallway to his own class.

"I can't believe him, he already got kicked out of class once and he's already late for his next one." Roxanne shook her head at her cousin.

"Alright, please quiet down everybody. Please make groups of three people with whom you'll work all term long, both in class and for group projects. Choose wisely." Professor Longbottom explained.

"Hey, Roxy, Marie Jo, want to group up?" Lee asked. Roxanne seemed to hesitate for a second.

"Sure thing Lee. But you better pay attention, you lazy butt."

"If you guys don't mind, I really don't want to impose."

"Rubbish, Marie Jo, it's best you're here. We usually have to pair up with some friendless creep. Awkward much." Lee teased her.

"Why, thanks, Lee, glad I can be of use to you." Marie Josephine had immediately felt comfortable with Lee. He was extremely funny and a right extrovert. He seemed at ease in any situation and had something to say about everything and everyone.

"Alright, does everyone have a textbook?" Marie Josephine raised her hand and Longbottom handed her an old textbook. She opened it to find all the pages scribbled and annotated. Great.

For the rest of the class, Professor Longbottom lectured on safety measures and amount of work and what not. Marie Josephine soon zoned out. Roxanne seemed to follow what the teacher was saying but Lee had just fallen asleep on his bag.

"Alright, I'll see you all on Thursday for some real work. Please come prepared, you'll read chapter one of your book. You may go."

Everyone stood up in a loud ruckus of stools on stones. Lee did not budge but Marie Josephine shook herself out of her stupor.

"Erm, excuse me professor, I was wondering if it would be possible for me to have access to the greenhouses after class? You see, I was not required to take Herbology in Beauxbatons and I believe I might be lacking some skills."

"Ah, yes, Ms. Wright, the Headmistress has already informed me of your situation. Here is a list of books I would advise you to read. And I usually am in the greenhouses until eight or nine. You may come if you have any questions."

"Thank you Professor. That would be great."

"Of course, now you should head to lunch. Oh, and please wake Mr. Jordan on your way out. Ms. Weasley seems to have forgotten him."

She nodded in response and went back to where Lee was still asleep. She pulled out her wand and flicked it.

"Bloody hell!" Lee roared, jumping up suddenly. "What was that for?"

"Hair removing jinx. I just plucked one of your nose hairs."

"Are you MAD? That was bloody painful!"

"Well, you're awake aren't you? So I'd say efficient rather than painful. Come on let's go to lunch, I don't remember how to get to the Great Hall."


	4. Chapter 4

Fred laughed at Lee's face as he rubbed his eyes.

"She's crazy, I'm telling you. She plucked one of my nose hairs to wake me up!"

Lee had returned from Herbology with Marie Josephine, who had gone to sit with her fellow Hufflepuffs. Lee had joined them all at the Gryffindor table and was recounting his faithful awakening.

"Man, she's got to teach me how to do that." Roxanne mused.

"Probably just a hair-removing spell." Oscar observed. "Rather creative if you want my opinion."

"Hear, hear. I mean think about all the opportunities to get you guys up for Quidditch in the mornings."

"Mate, don't you dare." Lee threatened darkly. This caused all the others to laugh.

"Come on, stop making fun of me will you? I would like to see you being woken by some crazy French hottie while you were dreaming of sweet babes in swimsuits."

"Aww, gross Lee, keep your wet dreams to yourself." Roxanne made a face of disgust. She loved her brother and her friends, they were way more fun than most of the girls in her year. Especially because Molly was hard to have fun with. But sometimes they were plain revolting.

"Oh, Roxy dear, we both know you're just jealous you're not in them," Lee replied, smirking. This earned him a slice of tomato in the face and more laughter.

"You're an idiot, Lee. You should know never to anger a Weasley woman." James managed between fits of laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Lee muttered. "Scourgify." The tomato pulp disappeared from his face. More laughter.

"So James, any news on Quidditch?" Oscar asked to change the subject.

"Well, I have a meeting with McGonagall tonight after dinner to schedule try-outs and practice hours. I'm going to try and get us the best slots possible but honestly I can't promise anything, McGonagall loves giving us the worst practice times."

"Don't worry, mate. As long as we win the Cup again, I don't care about practice times." Fred reassured.

"Yeah, you say that now, but when in January and under piles of snow and rain, you're less happy about late night practices," Lee teased happily.

"You going to comment again this year, Lee?" Roxanne asked.

"Yep. McGonagall said it was family talent. I hope Emma takes over after me," he said motioning to his little sister, a third year Gryffindor a few seats down.

"I'm sure she will, she loves Quidditch as much as, well, as you. I mean the banners she makes for the games are always so cool." Oscar pointed out.

They chatted happily for the rest of lunch. They all had DADA afterwards, be it advanced or not. In more recent years, Hogwarts had had to hire more teachers, especially for Defense. After the war, students had been required to follow a much more intense Defense course. And from third to sixth year, they were required to take a preventive course to avoid any more fallings to the Dark Arts. Fred and Molly were the only ones to take normal Defense; the rest all had advanced Defense. Up until fifth year, they had all been together for all their classes, but in sixth you had to choose NEWT courses and they had had to separate. Molly never sat with Fred since she though he would be a distraction so he always ended at the back of the class, either alone or with some crazy fangirl. Fred sighed as he arrived to his classroom. Molly was already inside. He took his seat near the back of the room, next to the door and watched as people came in. He recognized a few Quidditch players from the other houses, but no Gryffindor teammates. He also recognized James's long time crush, a cute redhead Ravenclaw. She never showed much of an interest in the two boys, probably why they noticed her and James eventually took a fancy to her. He was very much a Potter, bearing the redhead curse and all. Fred could not help smiling at the idea of a fairy godmother declaring all Potters would fall for redheads. Professor Thomas then came in. The room was full, only the seat next to Fred was empty. 'This means the others got Wimbley. That's for being geniuses.' Fred thought. Professor Thomas was one of his favorite teachers. He was laid back yet he had authority and was highly respected by all his students. His classes were always interesting and he praised hands-on work over stupid theory. Fred had heard he followed Remus Lupin's teaching methods, but he could not know for sure.

"Alright, everyone, welcome back. Last year at Hogwarts, hey? This is going to be hard work; the Defense NEWT has the reputation of being the hardest. Especially because they want to include the Patronus Charm. That is highly advanced magic and most of you will not achieve a full-bodied Patronus at the end of the year. The requirement is just for an animal to be perceptible, not recognizable, and I must say, there is no one in this class that should have a problem and… May I help you miss?" Everyone turned around upon seeing the Professor's confused face.

"Sorry, sir, I got lost coming here from the Great Hall. This is Seventh Year Defense, right?"

"Of course. You must be Ms. Wright? Please take a seat. And try not to be late next time."

Marie Josephine blushed crimson and took the seat next to Fred.

"Do you have a textbook?"

"Urm, no sorry Professor."

"It's alright, Mr. Weasley, please get a textbook for Ms. Wright from the cupboard."

Fred went and grabbed the first textbook on the pile while Professor Thomas continued covering the year's curriculum.

"There you go. How are you, Marie Jo?"

"Good, thanks. I couldn't find my way here. All the people from my house I know are taking advanced Defense so they sort of left me there and I couldn't find my way."

"Don't worry about it. It's just weird 'cos you're the only new student. First years get lost all the time. If you want, I can take you exploring later today."

"That'd be cool, thanks. I asked James for a few directions but those moving staircases got me so confused I got lost anyways."

"Ah, yes, the moving staircase. Quite the friendly foe, aren't they?" She nodded in response. "Lee told us about your hair removal thing. He was pretty spooked."

"He didn't!" Marie Josephine laughed. "Don't you guys do that here? In Beauxbatons it's the top used jinx. Usually, nose hair is the meanest of them all, it's really painful. Otherwise we do eyebrows or leg hair. Or beard for blokes."

"You guys are awful!"

"Well, I don't think Lee's ever woken up that fast in his entire life, so I'd say it was pretty clever."

"I'm not saying the contrary, it's just… Yeah, no, it's a good jinx."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. I used it a lot on bullies when I was younger. I was actually the one to start with the nose hair plucking idea. I was always tall for my age so guys from my class were easy to handle. The problem was older blokes. So since I had an awesome view of someone's nose for the first time of my life, I couldn't resist. Earned me a few good punches." Fred couldn't help laughing at her story. It was true; Marie Josephine was probably the tallest girl at Hogwarts. Except maybe for that Slytherin half-giant. But that girl was also huge sideways so Marie Josephine appeared even taller. Not that she was a skinny girl, but she had a slender look, she moved swiftly (but that did not imply elegantly). She was exactly what one expected of a girl with her character. Her body mirrored her mind.

"Well, Fred, have I lost you there?"

"Sorry, I was just comparing you to other girls in school…"

"Umm, ok, not sure how I should feel about that."

"No, it's a good thing. Most girls in school are stupid fan girls, you're not. I don't know there's just something about you… You're not the kind of girl I would take in a broom closet for a snog, even though you're alright. You're not the kind of girl I can't consider a girl because you're alright. You're funny and daring, but you're not some mindless prankster. I don't really know. I guess you remind me of my cousin Dom."

"Dom? Well she does have the coolest haircut around, I'm glad to be compared to her."

"Ok, now that was shallow." Marie Josephine laughed at his feigned horrified look.

"Like you didn't judge me on my looks. Roxanne told me in Herbology you guys talked about 'my fine legs' when you saw me on the platform."

"Well, it's a fact, those are some fine legs you got. Too bad these stupid robes cover them." Marie Josephine smacked him with her parchment. She had been taking thoughtless notes of what Thomas was saying about the things they would cover that year, and the ink smeared across Fred's forehead. She sniggered at the sight.

"What?"

"Your face!" Fred conjured a mirror.

"AAH!" he almost shouted. "Merlin! I'm starting to side with Lee here."

"Want me to take care of some nose hair for you, dear sir?"

"Don't come near my face. Scourgify." He said pointing his wand at his forehead. "You'll pay."

"Of course, if you say so."

"Ms. Wright, Mr. Weasley, I'm sure you two are eager to get to know each other but please wait for after class." This earned them a round of laughter. Fred grinned widely but Marie Josephine blushed a little and pulled his face down. She did not need to attract more attention and so far she was failing rather miserably at discretion.

They passed notes for the rest of the class on one of Fred's magical parchments his father had invented. They weren't for sell yet, but being the son of WWW's founder had its advantages. Marie Josephine asked for the names of the different people around the class, as well as their House. By the third row, she had forgotten most of the names of the students and they had to start again.

"Alright class, dismissed. We'll start with Patronuses next class, I want to give you the most time possible to prepare."

Everyone stood up and began going out, chatting animatedly at the prospect of learning Patronuses.

"What class do you have next, Marie Jo?"

"Advanced Potions."

"Hey guys!" Fred yelled once in the hallway. Several people turned around. "Anyone here got advanced potions." The redhead girl, James's crush, turned around.

"I do, I can take you if you want."

"Thanks Mayers. Alright, I'll see you around, Marie Jo."

"Yep, see you." Fred watched the two girls walk down the hallway. He and James had a free period and were planning on inventorying all the pranks they had brought. That last week of holidays had really set off their plans for the year and they had to make it all up. Oscar also had this period free but he probably would go out to the grounds to fly.

The boy's dormitory was already its usual mess when Fred opened the door. James was standing in the middle, with parchments and a quill in his hand. He was sorting different items into piles with the help of his wand.

"Hey James, how's it going?"

"Hey, sorry, took the liberty of looking through your trunk for what your father gave you."

"Sure, mate, I don't care. By the way, I have Defense with Mayers."

"What?" James looked up with sudden interest. "Did she talk about me? Did she say anything?"

"Nah, but she took Marie Jo to Advanced Potions. So I actually talked to her man."

"Aw, you suck, you should have put in a good word for me."

"Don't worry I told Marie Jo you fancied Mayers and she just might take care of that for you."

"You think? I mean, she is a girl, she could give me some good advice, couldn't she?"

"Why don't you ask her later. I promised I'd take her exploring the castle tonight."

"Good idea, man. Ah, why did we pledge never to make friends with girls in second year?"

"Probably because _Mayers_ once tattled on us and we thought they had cooties. Said pledge only emphasized when they all started getting curves and it was really hard to talk to a girl without ogling."

"Ah, yeah I remember. Guess we can flush that down the toilet."

"Indeed… I knew there was some reason I didn't do commitment."

They kept running inventories for most of the hour, probably the neatest and most organized thing they ever did.

"Hey, James, you want to know something about Marie Jo?"

"What."

"Well, something really weird happened in Defense. See, I was asking her about that awesome nose hair removing jinx and all and she told me she was the one who came up with it and then I compared her to girls in our school and even Roxy and Dom aren't as… I don't know, intriguing as her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know, she made me want to revoke the pledge right there. And I told her she was pretty and she didn't mind or anything. She didn't go all giggly on me. It's just weird, mate. It's almost like she's one of the blokes. Yet she doesn't try to be all 'dudie' like some girls do."

"Mate, I think you're just bewildered by the opposite sex not just being boobs and butts."

"Oh, 'cuz you have?"

"Of course. Astrid, for example, is not just lust. I really like her. She's smart and curious and she sings really well."

"James, the only times you actually talk with her are when you guys have projects together. Oh, and there was that one time you picked her quill up in Muggle Studies last year. All you know about her is from stalking."

"Well, Molly knows her from prefect stuff and she said she was nice and she's told me plenty about her." James replied stubbornly.

They had stashed all the pranks back into their trunks. They knew none of their dorm mates would rat them out to the caretaker, Mr. Paddington, for owning WWW products, but they couldn't risk someone coming up there and ruining their pranks. They grabbed their bags and headed towards their Advanced Transfiguration class.

Astrid Mayers had been really nice to Marie Josephine, she had shown her the textbook so she could retrieve one from the cupboard and had shown her where all the ingredients were stacked and how things were organized. When Professor Clinton, a small, scrawny but nice man, Head of Hufflepuff, had entered the room and asked them to pair up, she had apologized and explained she had already promised someone she would sit with them. Marie Josephine did not mind that, she understood she could not expect everyone to change their lives for her. Plus, partners were usually for the rest of term, so most people sat with friends or people they knew were hard working. What bothered her was that Grant Ward had immediately gone out of his way, refusing several people, to get her to sit with him. If she had not been sure he was trying to get a date with her before, she now had no doubts whatsoever.

It turned out Astrid also had Advanced Transfiguration with Marie Josephine afterwards, so she offered to walk her to the third floor of the left wing.

"James, Fred, you also have this class?" Marie Josephine called, upon seeing them in front of her Transfiguration class.

"Oh, hey there Marie Jo. Hey Astrid, how are you?"

"James, I saw you this morning."

"I know, doesn't mean I can't ask. My mum's always telling me to be more of a gentleman." The redhead rolled her eyes at the boy and walked over to some fellow Ravenclaws with a wave.

"Did she say anything to you about me, Marie Jo?" James whispered in her year, his tone pressing yet hopeful.

"No, unless she refers to you as eye of newt, which is all we talked about. It's a bit hard to break the ice with her."

"That's Ravenclaw for you. Too bad Jamesie-poo, looks like you'll have to wait a bit longer for your date." Fred and Marie Josephine roared with laughter at James's defeated look.

"Oh, shut up, you idiots."

"Class, come in, please. You will be given assigned seating. Find the table with your name and sit down. Ms. Wright, please come to my desk at the front for a textbook." A female voice came from inside the classroom.

The students all filed in silently in the classroom. Marie Josephine went up to the front of the class, where a woman of about sixty years old sat in a wheelchair.

"Hello, professor." Marie Josephine greeted, unsure of what to do. Something about the woman imposed utmost respect. Actually, it might have been fear.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Wright. I am Professor Riviera. Here is your textbook." Marie Josephine grabbed the heavy book the teacher had levitated in front of her. She noticed the slight Hispanic accent harbored by the woman, in accordance with her name. The young girl walked to her seat next to Fred, and looked around for James. He was sitting at the table right next to them with Astrid. The Ravenclaw girl looked a bit uncomfortable and almost annoyed at the pairing. Fred was wiggling his eyebrows at James, who flushed a slight pink. Marie Josephine couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, everyone, welcome back. This is your last year, and therefore about to become your most challenging year. I expect you to work hard for this class. I will not accept late homework, nor late students. If you wish to drop out, now is the moment. I believe we can skip the usual beginning of year speech, you all know it by heart, I imagine. Open your books to the first chapter and read silently, please. Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, please stop eyeing each other. I'd rather have you be lovebirds outside of class, thank you." Marie Josephine snorted, but she was the only one to make a sound. Even though many others smiled, none made a sound and Marie Josephine hid her laughter behind a cough. Not even Fred or James pulled one of their cheeky, want-to-be charming smiles. Much unlike Defense, Fred did not talk, or write notes. He simply read and silently practiced the wand movements described by the books.

'Wow, this is one hard-core woman,' she thought, eyeing the teacher wheeling her way around the room. They had a double period of Transfiguration and Marie Josephine did not feel ready to spend two full hours in overwhelming silence. Everything about Hogwarts had seemed loud and cheerful, and this was pretty strange. Fortunately for the French girl, the second half of class was spend practicing the new spells described in the first chapter of the book. It consisted of transfiguring feathers into flowers. The next week, they would all check up on their flowers and see which had survived. This would already count for their grade. Marie Josephine easily performed the spell, having already covered this chapter in Beauxbatons. She helped James with his own flowers, who looked a bit lousy, if she were to be honest. He thanked her profusely, after he eyed her healthy looking roses.

"So, Marie Jo, Fred tells me you want to come exploring after dinner. We have dinner in the Great Hall in an hour but curfew is only at nine. I suggest we skip dinner, we'll take you to the kitchens when we head back to Hufflepuff. How's that sound?"

"Sure, you guys are the bosses here, not me."

"Great. We'll start up in Gryffindor tower. Fred and I have a few things to grab. Why don't you leave your bag in our dorm tonight? We don't have homework so you don't need your stuff."

"Okay, sure, I don't care."

The three friends headed up the moving staircases to the seventh floor, where the portrait of the Fat Lady stood.

"'Lo, ma'am, how are you?" Fred greeted with a charming smile. The Fat Lady blushed (if it was possible for a painting to do so) and waved at Fred.

"Password please?"

"Marie Jo, cover your ears. We'll show you our home, but no way we'll show you how to get in." The girl in question rolled her eyes and cast a deafening charm on herself, which she only removed when the portrait swung open. Gryffindor Common Room was much different from Hufflepuff. It was warm and welcoming, but it harbored strong reds and golds, whereas Hufflepuff was all in light beiges and browns. There was a fire too, and red couches. Students sat around, chatting, righting home or playing various games. Marie Josephine felt quite left out and wished only to become smaller and disappear.

"Don't be shy. Come on, our dorm is that way." Fred pulled her forward. Many eyes turned to her. Oscar and Lee waved from where they were playing wizarding chess and Roxanne and Molly smiled from amongst a group of giggling girls. Marie Josephine could not help but be reminded of French fangirls. Only these girls actually lived with James Potter. She rolled her eyes and followed the boys up the stairs to their dorms. They opened a door that read 'Seventh Year' and revealed a messy, already smelly dormitory. The two boys eyed wearily their new friends, eager to watch her reaction.

"Well, this reeks. But I like the decoration." She pointed to the mess of clothes at the end of Fred and James's beds. They had emptied their trunks in order to access their pranks and had not bothered to place their clothes back in their trunks. She moved towards James's bed, recognizable thanks to a picture of the Potter family on the night stand and threw her bag on it. House Elves had come to make the beds during the morning, probably saving the boys from further humiliation. The two also dropped their bags next to their beds. James reached under his bag for a small box. He pulled out the cloak Marie Josephine had seen him stuff into his back pocket and a worn out but blank parchment.

"You never know." He replied to Fred's questioning glances, ignoring Marie Josephine's. "Let's roll."

Once outside the portrait, the boys began their guiding tour.

"So, Gryffindor Common Room, Seventh Floor. This is where we spend most of our time, so if you're looking for us, this is probably where you'll find us. Now, this way we have classrooms, that way you have two teacher rooms. That's also the way to the moving staircases, and the Great Hall, which is all the way downstairs." James began. They walked in the direction of the classrooms and took a few steps upwards.

"This is the Western Wing, where you have more classrooms, usually for options. There's a bathroom. And that way is teacher quarters. We're not allowed in there." The kept walking through hallways and hallways. The boys seemed to hesitate when they came to a nearly empty corridor with an old tapestry of Goblins. Marie Josephine decided to spy on them to find out the obvious secret the hallway hid.

"Up this staircase is the entrance to the Ravenclaw tower. It's a pain to get in there, the portrait asks a riddle and changes it EVERY TIME." They took her through mazes of hallways, to the Astronomy Tower, showed her the best snogging spots, took her to the Divination classrooms, and even to the Library, though they claimed it was the most useless place in the world. They showed her where all her classes were, making sure she could find her way to each of them. They took her to the grounds, showed her the Quidditch Pitch, and took her to Hagrid's, whom she found very nice, but a tad too much. She was part French after all, and her mother had insisted upon bringing her up accordingly. They showed her a few shortcuts between Hufflepuff Common Room and the Great Hall. They took her to the dungeons and showed her where the Slytherin Common Room was. By the time they had covered all the places the boys deemed important, it was nearly nine o'clock and they were exhausted and hungry.

"Well, let's go to the kitchens, they're really close to your Common Room," Fred proposed.

"Sure." They walked back to the ground floor and stopped in front of the fruit painting Marie Josephine had noticed the night before. James reached up to tickle the pear in the middle. The painting swung open almost instantly and Marie Josephine couldn't help but gape at the spectacle before her. Sure, she had sneaked into the Beauxbatons kitchens, but this was something else. Dozens of house elves were running around with plates, cutlery and what not. In one corner, there were five tables, just like in the Great Hall. Marie Josephine assumed they were enchanted and that was how they managed to get the food upstairs almost instantly.

"Master Fred, Master James!" one of the house elves squeaked.

"Hey there, Squinky. Do you have anything left from dinner for us three to eat?" Fred asked.

"Of course, please sit, I'll bring some right over."

The three teenagers sat down at what must have been the teachers' table. Seconds later, they had plates in front of them and an elf brought some meat and potatoes over. They served them pumpkin juice and salad as well. Marie Josephine just stared for a minute while James and Fred piled their plates with food.

"You can eat, you know, nothing'll happen to you." James teased.

"Yeah, sorry, just a bit bewildered." She served herself. "This place is awesome. And Hufflepuff Common Room is right down the corridor. You know, I noticed this painting yesterday, I knew there was something about it."

"I bet it's 'cuz your stomach has the brains." Fred laughed.

"I don't doubt it, man."

"So, still as confused about Hogwarts as you were?"

"Nah. I hope not. This place is bloody humungous."

"I know right."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Lots of love, Mum and Dad**_

"Alright, dear, I can send it from upstairs, this guy here looks like it could use some rest." He said motioning to the tired looking owl. There had been a rainstorm during the night and the poor animal probably had diligently battled its way through it. "I'll use my own owl."

" _D'accord_. I 'ave to leave for work anywayz. Thoze new designz won't make zemselvez." She put away the last few things from breakfast. Michael climbed to his office and closed the door. He rushed to the desk and added a few lines to the letter.

 _ **PS: Do not fret, Marie Jo, nothing has arrived yet. I was simply wondering if the boys you had fought with were also your new friends. Even though I doubt it, at this point I know anything is possible in your life. Also, good luck with Quidditch. I know your mother does not like the idea of you playing, much less professionally, but I find it great. Love always, Dad.**_

Sealing the letter, he attached it to his owl and sent it flying. He chuckled at the thought of his daughter ramming through a crowd of boys because one of them had eyed her a little too long. She had her mother's temper but her father's way: she flared up for no reason but unfortunately she struggled to argue with words, often resulting in stupid duels or fistfights. Going to Muggle middle school had been both the best idea and a not so good one.

Marie Josephine smiled at the letter from her father. She was up in the dorm, resting on her bed after her second day of classes. It had been once again hectic. Fortunately, she had not lost her way. She found out she shared most of her classes with at least one of the boys. She also shared several classes with Grant, which was clearly too many for the poor boy to handle. Whenever she sat next to one of the boys, he would send them the dirtiest looks possible, only to receive a string of faces and jokes at his expense. She noticed the tension between Ward and the others and was thinking about asking them about it.

She was relieved her father had not been angry about her getting in a fight. It was a much too frequent occurrence, but she could not help it. As for Quidditch, she had learned at breakfast tryouts were Saturday at two o'clock. The Captain was revisiting the entire team, which was great for Marie Josephine, since the beaters from the previous year were all still attending Hogwarts.

She replied to her father's letter, giving him more details about how she had met Fred and James on the train and about the fight. She told him about her classes and about Grant. He was like her personal diary. She knew her mother would also read the letters, but she tended to be a little too… feisty about the content and sometimes forgot that Marie Josephine was a person of her own, not some ideal daughter her mother wished for. That happened whenever Marie Josephine got in fights (which, once again, happened way too often).

"Hey, Marie! What are you doing?" Gemma inquired upon entering the dorm.

"Hey Gemma. Just writing to my parents. They already replied to yesterday's letter. I think they're a bit worried I won't fit in or something like that."

"Well, I don't see why. You're a complete extrovert. I've seldom seen someone as social as you. I mean everyone in school already knows who you are, even the tiny first years. I'm pretty sure the Head Boy's got it bad for you. Oh, and you have befriended the four hottest boys in school."

"Ha, okay, seems I already have a reputation preceding me."

"You do. But it's a good one. Hufflepuff is a bit the forgotten house. Everybody thinks we're these passive idiots or something, it's really annoying. You're giving us a good image. Plus you're hot, so boys notice you that much more."

"Um, I don't really know how to react to that. I'm not good at taking compliments." Gemma laughed at her discomfort.

"I just thought it would be important for you to hear it. You look so confident and people just assume you know it, but I know everyone needs to hear they have people who like them once in a while, especially when you get parachuted in a new place."

"Wow. Thanks Gemma, that's really considerate of you."

"No worries. We're going to play exploding snap with a few girls. Want to join us?"

"Absolutely." Marie Josephine rose from her bed and followed her friend to the Common Room. They played for most of the night and laughed about the stupidest things. The new girl could not have felt more welcome in her entire life.


	6. Chapter 6

p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"Saturday came faster than expected. James had his tryouts all planned since the beginning of the summer. He knew Oscar, Fred and Roxy would easily make the team. Albus probably and as for Lily, it depended on the older students. But she could always make reserve. Dom did not play for the school. She hated competition, something no one could figure out where she had got. It was probably the perfect mix of Uncle Bill and Uncle Fleur she appeared to be. Molly and Lucy did not play. Rose would probably try out too, but he already had Oscar as keeper. Maybe she would try chaser. He knew Andrew Thomas, a chaser from the previous year, was probably going to tryout too. He was really good. He just felt bad for having his family on the team. But the Weasley's were just the best Quidditch players Gryffindor had, and there was no denying it./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"Oscar, Lee, Fred and James had decided upon going to watch the Hufflepuff tryouts. They had not seen Marie Josephine fly yet and were curious. She seemed to know plenty about Quidditch and expected her to be no less on the field. Gryffindor tryouts were on Sunday morning and she had assured them she would be present. James's mind was therefore in Quidditch Captain Mode, as Fred called it, when they climbed the stairs to the stands. He recognized Marie Josephine from her Beauxbatons gear. She owned some kind of French broom they didn't know, but she assured them it was one of the fastest, and had not revealed more information. She was unusually secretive about Quidditch and Lee would not shut up with crazy theories as to why./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"They watched as the Hufflepuff Captain asked his players to arrange themselves according to the position they wanted to play. There were only five potential beaters, and Marie Josephine was the only girl. There were about twenty chasers, fifteen beaters and a dozen seekers. The Captain, a Chaser, announced he would be choosing beaters first, as he needed them for the rest of the tryouts. James nodded at his decision. He asked the five beaters to do a few laps around the field while he sorted out the rest of the players./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"The boys watched Marie Josephine mount her broom. She rose from the ground and it was instantly clear she was a natural. She waited for the other candidates to rise and began doing laps. None went too fast, not wanting to show their full potential yet. Marie Josephine appeared quite small next to the brutes that were trying out for beater, and Merlin knew she was not a small girl at all. She flew gracefully, not too fast, always staying in third out of the five candidates. Then the captain called them and told them to grab a bat each. He launched three Bludgers and told them it was an all out war to see which were the two left after fifteen minutes. 'Radical,' James thought, 'but efficient.'/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"The five players played mercilessly. Bludgers whooshed by the stand at incredible speed. Even Fred, who was stronger than James, was amazed at the speed the enchanted balls flew by. Marie Josephine was surprisingly strong. But most importantly, she was much more agile and clever than her adversaries. She took down three of the other beaters and by ten minutes, she was the only one left, along with another boy, Robinson. By then, everyone present on the pitch was gaping at her. Female beaters were unusual as it was the position that probably required the most strength; but she had just taken down three giants without breaking a sweat./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Merlin, I'm dreading the game against Hufflepuff, all of a sudden." Oscar whispered./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Are you kidding? We're dead!" Lee exclaimed. "I mean did you see how she flies. Not even your mum flies like that, James. Not even you! Not even Mr. Wood himself flies like that!" He was waving his arms, as if that made his point even more impressive./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""James…" Fred said. "You better come up with a way to take her down because we are dead meat. We're good, but she's just impressive. I mean, I don't know how she plays as a pair with the other guy, which might be the only advantage we have on her, but mate, I'm pretty sure she'll still be a threat."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"James could not take his eyes off her. How could such a good flier be human? He had seen some of the best fliers of his age and she was nothing short of their level. Like Lee said, she flew perhaps even better than his mum did./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"For the rest of the afternoon, Marie Josephine and the other beater sent Bludgers at the other players, to test their reflexes and their flying skill. She molded her game perfectly to her partner's./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"At the end of the tryouts, she flew over to where the boys were sitting and landed next to them./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""So, what do you think? Do we have a good team? Do you think we can…"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""WHERE IN MERLIN'S LEFT TESTICULE DID YOU LEARN TO FLY LIKE THAT, WOMAN?" Oscar shook her by the shoulders frantically./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""What?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""You were incredible out there." Lee explained./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""We should race." James proposed. "Accio broom!"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Accio broom!"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Accio broom."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""I'll just comment then." Lee said as he watched his friends call for their brooms. "I need the practice anyways, I can just feel this year's games are going to be crazy!" Soon the brooms came flying and Marie Josephine and the three boys flew away. Lee cast a Sound spell to his voice./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Lady and gentlemen," he called, "welcome to the 'let's challenge Frenchie-squeezie' race. Fred, James and Oscar will attempt to beat MJ on a ten-lap race. The rules are simple. Don't cheat; don't push others off their brooms and fly fast. Please place yourselves behind the southern goalposts. All right. On your marks, ready, go!/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"And James takes the lead; clearly, Seeker like his father would have been fine. Followed closely by MJ. Oscar and Fred, being heavier and stronger, are tied just behind. Oscar is catching up, and… Did MJ just dive under James and overtake him? James is trying to catch back up. Fred and Oscar are now tailing James and first lap is over. MJ takes a sharp turn and comes out with even more speed. What the? James is catching up; Fred and Oscar are tied again. Ah, it would seem James is almost at the same level as MJ, careful with the turn and, James has to slow down for the turn but MJ keeps on at full speed. Second lap is over. James and MJ are fighting for first place, but so far MJ apparently has the advantage. Clearly she's not just biceps. Her turns are much cleaner than the boy's, but she's more vulnerable to the wind when flying straight. Oscar and Fred are slowly losing ground to their friends and Oh no, Fred just overtook James in a sudden rush. Clearly, he does not want to get left behind. Oscar seems to not want to give up and is tying up with James. This is crazy. About to start their fifth lap, the racers are just not giving up. MJ seems to be gaining some ground on Fred. James and Oscar are busy fighting for third place…"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Mr. Jordan, what is the meaning of this?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Ah, professor McGonagall, come to see the race have you? And Fred is reaching up to MJ, will he overtake her?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Mr. Jordan, I have not come to watch a race. You are all going to… Who is that flying?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""There's Oscar, Fred, James and Marie Jo, Professor. Oscar and James tied for third place while Fred seems to be second and MJ is up in front. ONLY THREE LAPS LEFT, COME ON BOYS, SHOW HER WHAT GRYFFINDOR HAS GOT!"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Mr. Jordan! Are my eyes deceiving me or are three of Gryffindor's best players losing to Ms. Wright?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Nope, you are very much correct professor. Incredible, isn't it? And the last two laps have started. Come on!"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""She could give Ginny Weasley a run for her money. That's some incredible flying."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""I know Professor. And she plays beater, we're doomed, there's no way anything is going through her Bludgers… Oh and James is catching up to Fred but Oscar faints him and takes the third position. James in fourth at his tail. Fred and Marie Jo are entering their last lap."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""I wouldn't have guessed she was such a great flier."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Well, not just flier, Professor, she totally got the way our team works just from us exposing the way the four Houses play. It's scary."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""I need to have a talk with Wood. And Ginny. Even Charlie didn't fly like that for Merlin's sake!"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Professor, did you just say what I think you said? Did you say Merlin's sake?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Please, Mr. Jordan, not the point."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Sorry. Come on Marie Jo! And the girl wins. Fred is right behind her. We have Oscar and James in third and fourth place. Well done everybody. Professor McGonagall is here to have a chat." The four racers came flying to the stands and landed./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Hello, Professor," James welcomed her with a big smile./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Mr. Potter, Mr. Wood, Mr. Weasley. I am strongly disappointed in you. As for you Ms. Wright, that was some incredible flying. I now regret having missed your tryouts, those would have been awfully interesting."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Thank you, Headmistress."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Mr. Potter, you better have one good team ready, we are not losing the House Cup. And so far I am positive Hufflepuff has the best players and the best team. Now, dinner is about to be served. Good evening." The Headmistress turned around and left the five teens on the stands./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Mate, I thought she was gonna give us a year's worth of detentions when she showed up."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Lee, your sound charm."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Oh, blast it." He removed the spell./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""She has a thing for Quidditch, my dad's told me about it. She did the same thing for him. He flew when he shouldn't have and ended up becoming the youngest seeker of the century."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""She's awesome." Wood agreed, nearly drooling in admiration./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Let's go to dinner guys, I'm starved." Marie Josephine pushed them down the stairs of the stands. They were such stallers./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"When they entered the Great Hall, after dropping off their Quidditch stuff in their dorms, they were met with sudden silence. All the eyes were turned towards Marie Josephine. A wave of excited whispers followed./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""What's their deal?" Lee asked dejectedly. He walked over to the Gryffindor table. Fred and James exchanged a glance and suddenly there was a huge explosion sound in the hallway. This had the desired effect of distracting everyone. The teachers immediately stood up and ran towards the explosion./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""What was that all about?" Marie Josephine asked the two boys./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Just the caretaker's office that exploded. We got him to confiscate some fireworks in case we ever needed them. It's the first time it was actually worth it."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""We gotta write to dad. He's gonna love the idea." The two boys headed down to sit with Lee. Oscar stayed behind to look at Marie Josephine head to her table and sit with Ward. He felt a sudden urge to blast the hair off of his head, and it took all his willpower not to. He went to sit with his friends; Roxanne was there too, asking questions about Marie Josephine and her flying skills. She gave him a knowing look when he sat down silently./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""So, anyways," she continued, "is Marie Jo such a good beater?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""You have no idea, Roxy, I mean, it's really impressive. McGonagall said she might fly as good as Aunt Ginny and even Charlie wouldn't be a match for her."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Wow. We're doomed aren't we?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""We are." James nodded. "There isn't a single Bludgers she touches that doesn't have consequences."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""We better get ourselves a good team." Fred warned his sister. "She's really something else. And it's not only the way she beats. She completely adapts herself to her partner and to the rest of the team."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Well, she definitely has her chances at playing professionally."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""She does. I mean, McGonagall said she'd even get Wood himself to watch her play. And even Flint who was supervising the tryouts seemed impressed by her flying."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Wood, as in Oscar's dad?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Yep, my dad indeed."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""He's Puddlemere's coach. As in, scouts are not even worthy of choosing her for their team?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Yes, dear sis, as in scouts are not worthy enough of choosing her."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Wow…" The five of them sat silent for a second. "You know, we should invite her to sit with us. She looks like she's about to bludgeon Ward down." Roxanne observed pointing towards the Hufflepuff table with her chin./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""I know right. Wartie totally has the mickey for her." Oscar suddenly seemed way too interested in the conversation./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""I sure hope she doesn't return the feelings, man." Lee uttered, sending food flying everywhere./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""She wouldn't?!" Oscar seemed a little panicked./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""He's kind of hot, but he's a bit of an idiot. Why don't you guys ask her?" Roxanne was enjoying this way too much. It was incredible watching her brother and his friends fret over their new friend: they were way too overprotective and it felt good not to be the one crushing under it./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Not a bad idea, sis, I mean, I trust her judgment, but I don't trust hormones."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Ew, imagine if she goes out with Wart. I might puke." James shuddered./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""You are so stupid." Roxanne muttered, turning back to her plate. "Hopelessly stupid."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; border-top: none; border-bottom: 0.75pt solid #00000a; border-left: none; border-right: none; line-height: 100%; padding: 0in 0in 0.01in 0in;" align="justify" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify" /p  
p style="text-indent: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"September went by quickly. Marie Josephine was caving under piles of homework, endless hours of Quidditch practice and spending time with James, Fred, Oscar and Lee. That involved a lot of sneaking out past curfew. On the third week of school, she found out about the room of requirement and is where she usually met up with the boys in the evenings. Grant was as clingy as ever, but had not attempted to ask Marie Josephine on a date yet, which she was relieved for. Bless him for not being a Gryffindor. She was getting good enough grades and had received an answer from Charlie Weasley about Romania. He had also asked McGonagall for an assessment of her skills and the headmistress had seemed very keen on the idea of sending her student on an internship. Marie Josephine wondered if she was not trying to get rid of a dangerous adversary before the Quidditch final, where everyone had already assessed Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were likely to play./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"October began warm, but everyday was colder than the one before, and by the first game of the year, Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff. The first Hogsmeade weekend was also coming up and it coincided with Halloween, could not have been more exciting. Marie Josephine had never been to Hogsmeade and the boys kept feeding her tales about the village./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Alright team. First game of the season! Let's try to get as many points in as possible so we have a good head start against the other teams. Beaters, I'm counting on you to keep those Bludgers rolling. We know Ravenclaw has a great keeper, so make sure you keep him busy. Avoid fouls though, especially you Robinson. Wright, try not to do too many things at once. Chasers, make sure we keep formation, Ford, keep the Quaffle out of the hoops. As for you Morrison, catch that snitch, and fast. Let's roll."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"They walked onto the pitch where a small drizzle was falling. Marie Josephine cursed mentally at the British weather./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Hufflepuff walks onto the pitch, we have Captain and Chaser Fletchley, chasers Bentley and Baker. Beaters Robinson and Wright, Keeper Ford and Seeker Morrison. On the other side, we have Ravenclaw with Captain and Keeper Rosefield, chasers Mayers, Peters and Longrest, Beaters Smith and Jones and Seeker Johansson. The Captains walk up and shake hands. I sense some tension there. Professor Flint will be arbitrating this game. He gives the teams his instructions. All right, he releases the snitch as the players go up in the airs. Ah, here come the Bludgers. I'm telling you people, we are about to see some major beating here. And finally he releases the Quaffle and blows the whistle! Hufflepuff takes the offensive. The chasers are perfectly coordinated. Baker comes face to face with Rosefield, one of the best keepers Ravenclaw has ever had. I reckon this will be a hard game and Hufflepuff scores as a Bludger from Wright almost collided with Rosefield. I sure didn't see that coming. Ravenclaw has the Quaffle but loses it on an offensive from the two Hufflepuff beaters. Wright and Robinson are on a roll, I mean look at them go! Not a single move overdue. I reckon the game against Gryffindor will be thrilling. Oh and Hufflepuff scores AGAIN!"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"The first hour of the game went by rather quickly. Marie Josephine and her partner were all over defending their teammates and destabilizing the Ravenclaw players. Robinson and Marie Josephine completed each other perfectly. Where he was almost only brutal strength, she was quicker and more agile. She was a better defender, he was a better offender. There had been two close calls with the snitch so far. The score was 110-20 for Hufflepuff. Scratch that another goal for Hufflepuff. Lee was ecstatic as he yelled into his wand. His voice echoed across the pitch and everyone was screaming. It was simply great./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Alright, we just ticked the one hour mark. So far, Hufflepuff clearly has the upper hand with a score of 120-20. Ravenclaw may still win if they catch the snitch and Oh, Chaser Mayers was just knocked out by a rogue Bludger. Merlin, where are Ravenclaw's beaters, man! Oh, Mayers is falling and is caught by Hufflepuff Wright. She seems to be unconscious. All right, she's being taken to the hospital wing. Ravenclaw is down one player. The Captain seems angry, Mayers was the only one able to score in this game. He's yelling at his beaters and glaring daggers at the other team. Everyone's back in the air and the seekers have spotted the snitch! Oh HUFFLEPUFF SCORES AGAIN and the seekers are neck to neck! Look at that speed and MARIE JO JUST SMACKED A BLUDGER AT THEM and Beater Smith shoves her and she falls off her broom. Oh she's hanging there, what the hell. And the seekers are still after the snitch. What speed. Come on. Robinson is trying to keep the Bludgers out of seeker Morrison but with Wright incapacitated, he seems to be having a hard time being everywhere at once. OH AND HUFFLEPUFF HAS THE SNITCH! HUFFLEPUFF WINS 280-20! Marie Jo, get up on that broom, will you, don't just hang there!"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"Smith had pushed Marie Jo off her broom and had broken her wrist when she had extended her arm to brace the impact. Her fingers were refusing to move and she was unable to pull herself back onto her broom. She was too far up to let herself fall down to the ground and her team seemed to have forgotten her there./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""OSCAR!" she yelled. She had seen him in one of the stands close to where she was hanging and she hoped he would understand she needed help. James and Fred had been sitting in the Ravenclaw stands, for their cousins Louis and Victoire had belonged in that house and they felt the need to support them./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""OSCAR! WILL YOU BLOODY HELP ME?" She yelled again./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Marie Jo, get back on your broom." The boy in question yelled./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""I can't, moron, I think I broke my wrist. My hand's getting slippery, I'm going to fall so DO SOMETHING!"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Alright, Alright." He pointed his wand at the broom. "Wingardium Leviosa." He motioned for the broom to come towards the stands, dragging Marie Jo along. He dropped her next to him, and released the broom./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Thanks, I thought I was going to stay there all day."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""No worries. You played great. My dad was here, he seemed impressed. And this is my dad we're talking about. He doesn't get impressed over anything."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Wow, cool. Can I meet him?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Sure, let's go down."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"They headed down the stands to the pitch where a middle-aged man who looked just like Oscar was waiting for them./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Hey Oscar."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Hey Dad." The only difference was the much stronger accent of his father. "This is my friend MJ."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Nice to meet you, Mr. Wood."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Oh, no, the pleasure is all mine, Ms. Wright. McGonagall asked me to come see you play and I must say, I didn't want to come at first. I'm glad I rescheduled that meeting with the Ministry to come. That was incredible. Please consider trying out for Puddlemere, we could use someone like you."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Wow. You're asking me to try out for Puddlemere. Like, you said please."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Well, Ms. Wright, you are one impressive player. I'm sure there will be more scouts out for you, so I must make a good first impression, you know."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Yeah, yeah I know, I'm just not sure I realize. Oh, and call me Marie Jo, only teachers call me Ms. Wright."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Of course. Well, I must go. I'm sure we'll still see each other this year; I'll try and come to some other games. Tryouts for Puddlemere should be in early July, I'll owl the exact dates. Good day, Marie Jo." He extended his hand for her to shake./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Um, sorry this wrist's broken, going to have to shake your left hand, sir." He laughed and extended his other, which she shook eagerly. The man walked away to talk to some other teachers./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""We should get you to the infirmary."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Wait just a sec. I'm a little star struck here…" she croaked. She just shook Oliver Wood's left hand. As in the hand no one else shook./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Um, okay…" Oscar eyed her wearily. "Are you done now? Your wrist looks really swollen." The girl looked at her wrist, which was now the size of an apple. Her fingers wouldn't budge but she was beginning to feel her pinky brushing against her robes. That was good, right?/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Yeah, let's go." He walked her to the Hospital Wing and carried her broom for her. She had dropped her bat and they had been unable to retrieve it from the crowd that had covered the pitch. When Madam Jenison saw her come in, she sighed in despair./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""I hate Quidditch games. What is it my dear?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""I think I broke my wrist ma'am."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Let me see." Marie Josephine extended her hand for the witch to see. "Can you move your fingers for me."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Nope, already tried that and it's not working. Although I'm regaining some feeling in my pinky." Madam Jenison looked at her wide-eyed./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""You should have come over right away, do you realized you ruptured your nerves! If we don't fix this, you might be paralyzed." It was Marie Josephine's turn to pale./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""What? Can you still fix it? Please, tell me you can, I mean this major scout just said he wanted me on his team, I can't be paralyzed? And it's my right hand, how am I gonna write?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Calm down, Ms. Wright. Your body needs to be rested in order to recover. Thank Morgana it is just your wrist. Mr. Wood, please leave now. She needs to rest and take a few potions, and I know you to well to know you are not the restful type. Out." Oscar sent Marie Josephine an apologetic look. He ran out of the infirmary as Madam Jenison shooed him out./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Alright, Ms. Wright, I unfortunately can't ask you to remove your robes, so I'm afraid you'll have to keep them on a bit longer. Now, this is your bed." She pointed her to a bed across from the one where Astrid, the Ravenclaw Chaser she had caught a bit earlier in the game, was lying. She was really pale, even her lips were white. She probably had a concussion. Marie Josephine felt somewhat guilty. She had not hit the Bludger her way or anything, but still, it was part of her job to keep track of them./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""I'll fetch you some potions and bandages, we have to immobilize your wrist or it might no heal right." Marie Josephine nodded and took off her boots with her left hand, which revealed itself to be very difficult. She sat on the bed waiting for Madam Jenison to return./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""There you go. Take these two first. Then in ten minutes you'll take this one. And give me your arm, I have to bandage you." The teenager drank the two potions as quickly as possible, trying not to gag at the taste. She settled for a small grunt of disgust. The Healer bandaged her arm from shoulder to finger, which Marie Josephine found ridiculous but was apparently necessary. The healer then shoved her into her bed and told her to be still. Eventually the young girl fell asleep./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Shut it, Oscar, you're gonna wake Jenison up." A muffled voice spoke into Marie Josephine's groggy mind./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Please, Lee's bloody crushing my toes. He won't move his fat ass away."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Yeah, we barely fit under here so if I move away, they'll see us, stupid." Lee's voice responded. Marie Josephine was now well awake. The voices came from the entrance of the infirmary. She could not see anyone, but there was no doubt about whom the voices belonged to./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""SHH! You guys trying to be louder than my gran when she's mad or what?" Fred's voice said. Suddenly, a shimmery substance seemed to fall down and reveal four boys, all curled over./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Umm, hello everyone, nice to join the party." Marie Josephine greeted with a smile./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""MJ!" the fours boys called simultaneously./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Shh, Mayers is sleeping in the other bed. She has a badass concussion, let's try not to disturb her too much, alright."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Yeah sorry."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Oh, yeah, Astrid! How is she?" James inquired worriedly./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""She hasn't moved since I got here. I'm glad I caught her, it could have been much worse. But Jenison said she should wake up tomorrow."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Phew, thank Merlin."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""That was one epic game, MJ!" Lee congratulated her. "I thought Oscar's dad was going to cry or something. He was sitting right next to me."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""He came to talk to me after the game. He wants me to go to Puddlemere."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""He almost pleaded." Oscar laughed quietly. "He's mad."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""I liked him. His accent's great."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Sorry we didn't realize you were injured and that's why you couldn't get back on your broom." James said sheepishly./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""We've already left Smith a little surprise. I hope he has a lot of shampoo." Fred sniggered./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Sorry, but the best part was Wart hexing him and then giving him detention for like a week." Lee laughed at the memory./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Guys, why do you call Grant Wart?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Let's say we have a little problem with the stick he's got shoved up his rear." Oscar explained between fits of laughter./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Oh, ok. It's just he has this humungous crush on me and…"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Did he ask you out?" Oscar asked, suddenly very serious./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Nah, but next Saturday is Hogsmeade weekend and I'm scared he'll ask me out. I'll say yes but just for one date, you know, at least like that I'll have given him a chance…"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""What? NO YOU CAN'T!" Fred yelled./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""SHH. Are you stupid? So what if? It's just a date, guys. And I'll be the one dumping him at the end."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""No friend of mine dates Wartie, okay?" Fred replied haughtily./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""You guys are just jealous because he would be the one taking me to my first Hogsmeade trip. He didn't even ask, I'm just saying in case he does."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Well, it's true, we want to be the ones to take you to Hogsmeade first." James explained. "But you just can't go out with Wart. It's just not the order of things, girl."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""What are you even? I'm done trying to understand overprotective blokes. I feel sorry for your sisters and cousins…"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Fred said./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Nothing, just an objective observation of your overprotectiveness. And I've only been friends with you since like the beginning of the year. You've lived with them all your lives."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Merlin, you make us sound like we're the three headed dog of Tartaros." James teased./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Really, a Muggle reference?" Marie Josephine eyed him playfully./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""What, the Greeks were awesome!"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Still, mate, she has a point. It was lame." Fred patted him on the back. The four boys stayed a little with her. Eventually, Oscar yawned and they decided to go back to their dorms./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""We'll stop by tomorrow, if Jenison let's us in, of course. Oh, and watch on Astrid for me." James gave her a look Marie Josephine almost laughed at, but stopped herself at the last second./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Sure, see you later!"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"They left her in the silent infirmary. She chuckled softly to herself, thinking about James out of measure crush on Astrid./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""You've made some real good friends there," a soft voice said./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" align="justify""Oh, Astrid, sorry, did we wake you. I'm so, so sorry."/p 


	7. Chapter 7

"No, I was already awake when they came in. Is that an Invisibility Cloak they have?"

"I think so. That's still a secret they haven't shared with me."

"Oh. Thanks for saving me earlier. I heard you say you caught me."

"Yeah. That was close shot. How are you feeling?"

"Like I got a Bludger to the head." They laughed a bit, and Astrid groaned.

"I don't feel like sleeping anymore." Marie Josephine said.

"Yeah, me neither, I mean, we've been here since eleven or so. It makes sense for us not to be tired anymore."

"Indeed."

"So what's Potter's deal?" Marie Josephine choked. Right, she heard James and his antics.

"Umm, how do I say this?" He was going to kill her.

"He's cute, but I'm too scared to talk to him. He's so intimidating." Astrid continued without waiting for her answer. Marie Josephine wanted to laugh. "He's really popular and all. He's really nice, I mean he looks out so much for his friends and family. He's in my Muggle Studies Class you know. We pair up but I've never been able to get past the 'work-buddies' thing. Is it because he thinks I'm some kind of stuck up Ravenclaw?"

"What? No, no, no… That's not it… He just… Up until now he had this pact of not befriending girls. At first it was because he thought they had cooties, and afterwards he became this sort of desirable guy and all these chicks started throwing themselves at him and he thought girls only liked hanging out with him because they were fangirls."

"Rumor has it he's a womanizer."

"Well, he likes the attention. I mean who wouldn't, you know? But I think it's also rumor, because he doesn't shag quite as many girls as people say he does."

"Oh."

"Yeah, they're really nice. Everyone takes them for granted."

"Them?"

"Yeah, Oscar, Fred, James and Lee. Sometimes people just have to give them a break."

"Yeah, it makes sense. I mean all their parents are famous and even Wood's siblings are already famous. I guess people misjudge them a lot."

"You know, even back in France they were famous. I mean, some of the stuff written about them, it's so disgusting." Astrid laughed at Marie Josephine's face. "I shared a dorm with these girls that would do these creepy games about them. You have no idea how hilarious it was for me to have Fred crush me in the train."

"What?"

"He fell on me. They came into my compartment to hide from I don't know who and tripped over something and Fred fell on me. When I realized who they were I thought they were going to be stupid but… they weren't. They even took me to meet the rest of their family."

"Yeah. I mean you made quite the entrance, didn't you?"

"So I've heard."

"In my first year, I was terrified I wouldn't make any friends. I'm a half-blood, but my mum died in a magical accident, so in the end, I had no one to teach me much about the magical world. It was a mess. There were my grand-parents but they're… old, you know."

"I'm sorry."

"But I was better off. I mean I wasn't the only new student. You were totally sticking out on the platform. Plus, you're so incredibly tall. And then, you really are an awesome flier."

"I guess I really was born to stick out."

"It's a plausible theory. I mean I stick out too. Look at my hair." Marie Josephine remembered how much her red-auburn hair stood out. It wasn't the Weasley hair; it was darker, more fiery, and even more noticeable. "But at least I'm not 5'10 like you." They laughed.

"Middle school was awful. I was taller than the boys. Even the ones in the year above me. So when we played some kind of sport, I would beat them so badly. They either loved me or hated me."

"Well, not much of a difference from here is it? I mean either boys crush on you like our darling Head Boy or they despised you like the four Perverts."

"Ah, man, is it that obvious? About Ward?"

"Well, I did notice his change of behavior… But you were talking about it with Potter and Co."

"Ah right. I feel terrible. I really don't like him that way. Sure, he's a cool guy and he's nice and all, but he's a little overbearing."

"A little? He's one hundred percent clingy. He crushed on one of my friends in fourth year it was right down creepy."

"Ugh… I'm doomed." Had Marie Josephine been able to move, she would have smacked her head on the pillow. One of the Potions she was given had paralyzed her body from the neck down.

"Get another guy to ask you out."

"What?"

"Get another guy to ask you out. You'd have no trouble with that."

"Yeah, but I'm not too comfortable… being flirty and all." Astrid laughed at her apparent discomfort.

"Oh, well, then just keep hanging with the guys, I'm sure he'll ask you out one day and you'll get to reject him. Though it might take some time. He crushed on my friend at the beginning of the year and he didn't ask her out until May."

"What?"

"Yeah, he's no Gryffindor and it took him some time to work up his courage."

"Ah. Hopefully he'll just never do it."

"Hopefully." They stayed in comfortable silence for a little while.

"It sucks we're stuck here. I'm hungry, I really could use a trip to the kitchens." Marie Josephine mused.

"I agree. My stomach's been rumbling since forever."

"Stupid paralyzing potions."

"She gave you one too?"

"Yep. It's so frustrating. I feel like moving my toes but it's like they're just not there." Astrid laughed.

"What happened?"

"Smith flew past me and collided with my arm weirdly. Apparently I ripped a nerve or something like that. But Oliver Wood came to talk to me to say he wanted me on his team and I didn't come right away. Jenison was pissed. She almost hit me."

"She's one moody lady. And she hates Quidditch players. We always come in with thousands of bones to mend and it annoys her."

"Well that's her problem! I just want to be fixed up so I can keep playing."

"I know. Don't worry, we've tried to explain her that. So far, not so good."

They chatted for the rest of the night, about everything and nothing. Marie Josephine managed to steer clear of the boys subject; she wanted to avoid another close call like earlier. Plus it bored her deeply. Yet she couldn't help but want to tell James that Astrid was possibly interested, if he would just get to know each other. So when morning came, Madam Jenison was very angry with them for not resting properly. She put a silencing charm on both their beds and told them to shut up. She forbade any visits and any distractions. So the girls both went to sleep.

"MJ!" James called.

"Hmmm. What is it?"

"We're here to visit, we brought some candy."

"Ah cool, thanks. Oh, I can talk again."

"Fred took the charm off. What happened?"

"Oh, Astrid and I talked for most of the night yesterday, so Jenison got angry because we didn't rest properly. I should be fine for classes tomorrow, but I can't play for the next two weeks. Thank Merlin our next game is after Christmas."

"Damn, that's some bad crap you got there." Lee observed. He handed her some candy.

"Hey, Astrid?" Marie Josephine called. There was no answer. Right the silencing charm. "Guys, check if Astrid is awake, she might want to join the party." James gave her a frightening look and Marie Josephine chuckled internally. She was so getting them together. Oscar went over to the other bed and lifted the silencing charm.

"Astrid?" he called. She didn't stir. "Nope, she's asleep."

"Ah, too bad, no candy for her." Marie Josephine stuffed her mouth with more Flavored Beans while James seemed relieved.

"So, you talked with her?" Lee asked in a mischievous tone. Marie Josephine immediately understood what he was trying to do.

"Yeah, plenty. She gave me some advice on how to deal with Ward because he crushed on her friend once and it was pretty bad. Then we talked about Quidditch and insulted the fangirls of this world. You know, hospital bed talk." James tried to appear uninterested but he really wanted to know stuff about Astrid.

"Did you not talk about boys? That's what girls usually do, isn't it?" Fred asked. He had perfectly understood the game his friends were playing. James continued completely oblivious.

"Well, not really. I mean we talked about it for a little but we immediately understood it wasn't the kind of talk we like to have. So we went back to talking about stupid fangirls. BUT…" Marie Josephine paused for effect. "She did say she thought you were a cool bunch and wished she had been able to befriend you. She thinks you're intimidating."

"REALLY?" James shouted. "YES! YES! YES! I am so sitting with her next time in Arithmancy."

"Nah, don't."

"What?"

"She said it was awkward because you were unable to get past a strictly professional relationship. So you should try to talk to her outside of class. And avoid Quidditch related conversations. Those are lame."

"Oh ok. Thanks MJ, you're my goddess."

"Shut it and gimme candy."

"What do you mean Quidditch conversations are lame?" Oscar blurted out suddenly.

"Well, it'sh shorta generic. I mean Jamesh ish alwaysh talking about Quidditch sho not good for flirting. It'sh too expected of them to talk about Quidditch. You can mention it quickly, like shay she played well or shomeshing. But that'sh all."

"Oh…"

"MJ?"

"Yeah?"

"I have Flavored Beans in my hair. That is plain gross."

"Oh, shorry Lee." She swallowed the gummy substance that had formed in her mouth. "So, need any more girl advice, folks? MJ here is on a roll! She's got all the answers to all your problems."

"Okay, don't. Jamesie-poo is the only one here with a crush-crush." Fred teased in a singsong voice. Oscar and Lee nodded a bit too eagerly and Marie Josephine immediately knew something was up.

"What about me? How do you know I don't have a crush?" Marie Josephine asked matter-of-factly.

"WHAT?"

"DID?"

"YOU?"

"SAY?"

"Wow, keep calm. I was just joking."

"Merlin, MJ, that was stupid."

"I think it was pretty funny, you should've seen your faces."

"Shove it. You can't have a crush."

"Why not?"

"Because then we'd have to give YOU advice." Lee shrugged awkwardly. "And we'd probably have to hang out with some other bloke that you would replace us with. And then one day after almost ten years of us not talking anymore you'd Floo and ask if we wanted to be your children's godparents and we wouldn't recognize you and…"

"Lee?"

"What?"

"ARE YOU BLOODY MAD!?"

"Sorry, I just tend to overthink the future a little."

James, Fred and Oscar were doubled over laughing as silently as possible. Marie Josephine was trying really hard to stay composed but eventually failed and began laughing too.

"Ugh, you guys suck. I'm going to bed, see you." Lee patted Marie Josephine's head and headed out. The other three stayed for a little longer and eventually went to bed. They had classes the next morning and needed to sleep a little. After about twenty minutes, the doors of the hospital wing opened again and Lee walked back in.

"MJ?"

"Ah, I knew you'd be returning. What is it?"

"Well, you know how you talked about giving girl advice…"

"Yes, I know very well."

"Well, I like this girl, but I don't really know if she likes me back. Or even less if I can date her…"

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"I like Roxy…" Lee said shyly.

"WHAT? Morgana, Merlin and baby Jesus, you like Fred's twin?"

"Yeah, it's bad."

"Oh my… That's why you had to come back later. I thought it was because you were ashamed. Mate, he can't find out or he's going to beat the crap out of you."

"I know. Do you think I have a chance?"

"I don't know. Roxy's a really perceptive person, but you're really good at hiding it. She's the last person I would have guessed; I mean you're able to joke about the most inappropriate things in the world with her. But if you start hinting at her she's going to understand IMMEDIATELY. But Fred probably won't. So if I were you I'd try to be a little flirty with Roxanne when you're alone. And only tell Fred once you're actually dating."

"You say it like you're so sure it's going to work."

"Why wouldn't it?"

"Why would it?"

"You're a fine bloke, Lee. You're decently smart, you're naturally funny, you're not too much of a pain, just enough for it to be a bother, but not enough for a girl to complain about. There's no reason for her not to at least be flattered by you liking her. But don't break the news right away. Wait until you know she's starting to have doubts about your feelings for her and then tell her."

"Okay… Thanks, MJ, I owe you."

"Who's Oggy's crush?"

"He has a crush?"

"Oh, I don't know but he reacted just like you when Fred joked about it so I figured he'd have at least told you… Guess not."

"Man, I'll try to pay attention then."

"K… Goodnight Lee. And don't worry about Fred, I'll help you deal with him."

"Thanks. G'dnight." He left her there and as soon as he was out the door, Marie Josephine began laughing like a madwoman. Weren't people so awkward with their feelings?

"Mate, I'm pretty sure there was something in that pact of yours saying we didn't befriend girls because they could turn out hot and that'd be awkward." Lee muttered. It was Saturday, a week after the game and the first Hogsmeade of the weekend. The four boys had promised Marie Josephine to show her the village just like they had done for Hogwarts. They were waiting for her at the doors. She was a little late. They had told her to skip breakfast so she had space for as many sweets as possible from Honeydukes. They had just seen her at the top of the stairs, running between the masses of students heading to the village. She was wearing tight Muggle jeans with knee high boots, and a tank top. She had a large sweatshirt and a warm cloak in her arms. She was panting by the time she got to the doors.

"Sorry guys, the girls were clogging the bathroom and I really needed to pee. Gemma has a date with Leo or something like that." She explained putting on her sweatshirt and swinging her cloak onto her shoulders.

"It's alright." Fred replied. He swung his arm over her shoulder. Unlike most girls in school, Marie Josephine was too tall for the boys to use her head as an armrest comfortably. Instead, they had settled for her shoulders, which were at a much nicer height. The small group headed out onto the grounds. It was Halloween and cold. Most leaves had already fallen and not a day went by without some rain. Marie Josephine was looking forward to the feast, which the boys had been talking about since forever. Especially because Fred and James were planning an epic prank.

"Wow, it's so cool!" Marie Josephine exclaimed upon seeing Hogsmeade at the turn of the path. "It's brilliant." She pulled the boys by the sleeves, running towards the village, pushing people aside as the boys muttered apologies. Most people just sent them amused looks, but James wished he were not involved when they ran past Astrid, and Marie Josephine yelled a greeting at her. James had missed his beautiful redhead, since she had spent the week locked away in the hospital wing.

"MJ, calm down."

"Oh, come on, lazy pants, move! I'm hungry, I want candy." They laughed at her antics. Finally they came to a halt in the main street of Hogsmeade.

"Alright, where do we go first?"

"Well, let's go to Honeydukes then we can go to my dad's shop. Maybe he'll be there." Fred proposed. Marie Josephine nodded eagerly, and followed the boys into the sweetshop. She bought two bags full of candy and they headed towards the joke shop.

"She's going to get sugar high…" Oscar muttered under his breath. James heard him and laughed so hard he ran into another wizard, who looked at him disapprovingly.

Fred pushed the door to his father's joke shop. Two years before, Mr. Zonko and his wife had retired and George Weasley had bought the shop that had illuminated his childhood. He had maintained the name "Zonko", but it was now run by the WWW. Marie Josephine looked around at the madness and happiness that hung in the air.

"FRED!" a tall burly man called. "James! How are my favorite nephews?" he asked pulling them both in a hug.

"Hey Uncle Ron. We're showing Marie Josephine around."

"Hello Mr. Weasley!" Lee greeted.

"How are you?" Oscar asked.

"Hello boys. So, where's she?" he looked around for his nephews' friend. He had heard way too much about her from everyone. He had to meet this Quidditch prodigy.

"MJ? Where'd you go?" James called. They found her looking at tricked games of exploding snaps. "Meet my Uncle Ron."

"Oh, hello Mr. Weasley. Sorry, I got distracted. I'm Marie Jo." She greeted, trying not to cry as she shook hands with the RON WEASLEY.

"Hello, Marie Jo, nice to finally meet you. I've heard a whole lot of things about you, I was wondering when I'd get to see you in person."

"Ah, all good things I hope. Do tell me so I can decide whether to ditch these idiots or not." The burly man laughed a deep laugh.

"Of course. Well, I don't know if everyone would find them flattering, but I reckon they would please you. Heard you beat the crap out of some boys on the train, that you're a Quidditch prodigy and that you're pretty creative at hexing people." By now, Marie Josephine had already had the chance to show her nose hair-removing jinx to most of her entourage.

"I see. Then they're all pretty accurate." She replied. The man laughed some more.

"Well, I'm really sorry George couldn't be here, but he's taking care of this rather big deal to expand the shop to Germany."

"Really?" Fred asked. "That's awesome. I heard German chicks were great."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, pumpkin."

"Pumpkin?" Marie Josephine inquired.

"Long story." James whispered in her ear. "I'll tell you later."

"Has everyone already stopped by?" Fred asked, trying but failing not to blush at the humiliating nickname.

"Yeah. You guys went to Honeydukes first, I see. Bloody hell, that's one lot of candy. Is she going to eat all that?"

"Yeah, don't worry Mr. Weasley, she could probably eat more than you."

"I hardly believe that." Ron laughed nonetheless. "Oh, by the way, Charlie's coming over for Christmas. He wants to meet you too, Marie Jo, about the internship."

"Oh, right! Do you think he'll agree to it?"

"Well, he seemed pretty eager. McGonagall's sent him all your records from Beauxbatons and she seems to think you're responsible and able enough. If McGonagall thinks that then you're probably fine. But he wants to meet you personally first."

"Cool. I'm so excited."

"Oh, also, I've met your dad."

"Really?"

"Yes, Harry had him over for dinner with all the Heads of the Departments. I went with my wife." Ron explained. "You're a lot like him even though you're the spitting image, only taller, of your mother."

"Yes, I know. My mum likes to deny it. We've learned to ignore it. She wished I were more French I believe."

"Don't worry, we have the same problem with Dom. Though she looks Weasley enough so it's easier for Fleur to let go. Well, I'll leave you to the boys, Marie Jo, see you around soon. Enjoy Hogsmeade!"

"Thanks, Mr. Weasley. Have a good day!"

"You too."

"Bye, Mr. Weasley!"

"See you later, Uncle Ron!" The small group exited the crowded shop. For the rest of the day, they toured around the village, though the highlight was the Shrieking Shack. Of course they knew about Remus Lupin's story and therefore knew the truth about the Shrieking Shack. They sneaked down and entered. It was a beautiful place; full of dark memories and pain, but Marie Josephine saw all the beauty of friendship and love carved in those claw and hoof marks against the walls.

They went back to the castle right on time to quickly change into their school robes for the feast. Fred and James got the statues to spook people during the meal, and had the lanterns flicker on and off repeatedly. It was a bit like a Muggle Horror house, and Marie Josephine had a great laugh. She saw Lee hug Roxanne when she screamed at a statue that had sent her cutlery flying, and chuckled silently. She saw James check up on Astrid as she tried to get some crying first years to calm down. She just laughed along with Fred and Oscar as mayhem spread to the teachers, leaving even McGonagall quite disheveled. The suits only left after the Great Hall was completely upside down. No one had their hats on anymore, and very few plates still had food on them, most of it now resided in the students' hair or on their robes. Most people were either dying of shock or of laughter. Next to her, Grant was covered in pumpkin juice and pie. Marie Josephine was also covered in food, as she had not attempted to hide from the projectiles, trying to enjoy the most of it.

"Scourgify." She breathed between fits of laughter. She broke off again when she saw Lee awkwardly trying to help Roxanne fix herself, and much more when she saw that James had run to meet Astrid to help her with the crying first years.

"SILENCE EVERYONE!" Hagrid roared over the hall. Everyone turned their attention to the teachers.

"Prefects, please gather the people from your Houses and take them to the dormitories." Professor McGonagall said. "I'll be expecting the culprits to own up, otherwise I will have to ask you all to scrub the entire castle from top to bottom the Muggle way. You are dismissed."

Marie Josephine, Fred and James give each other guilty looks as the two boys headed towards the headmistress. She released herself from Grant's grasp and slalomed between the students towards her friends.

"Wait, Fred, James!"

"MJ, what are you doing?"

"It's just as much my fault. I helped you find the spells and all."

"What are you talking about?" Fred said. "That's rubbish. We were the ones to pull the prank, and are only owning up so that no one gets in trouble."

"Still, I feel responsible." By then they were the only three students left in the Great Hall. Oscar and Lee were probably on the other side of the doors though.

"I imagined this was your work, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley. However, I did not expect Ms. Wright to be involved."

"She wasn't, Professor, she's…"

"I'm as guilty as they are. I might not have been the one to ultimately pull the prank but I worked on it with them quite a lot. It would be unfair for them to be punished and not me."

"Very well." Professor McGonagall said after a few seconds. You will spend the night cleaning the Hall by hand." She conjured some brooms, scrubs and buckets full of soapy water. "This would better be clean by breakfast time." With that the teachers exited the Hall, taking the three teenagers' wands, and locked the doors.

"MJ, you're so dumb, you didn't have to do that!" James shook her by the shoulders. "Stupid Hufflepuff!"

"Hey! Gryffindors are supposed to value chivalry, and I just acted very chivalrous, now shut up and grab a broom." The boys took care of the floor while Marie Josephine cleaned the tables. The cutlery had disappeared, but not the mess of spills around it.

"Ah, this is awful!" Fred moaned after about an hour into the detention. "I mean, come on, it was hilarious. They could just scourgify this mess up and we'd all be happy."

"Coz, the worst part is that they're surely going to write to our parents."

"WHAT? Oh, I am so dead." Marie Josephine began imagining her mother, screaming her head off at her irresponsible daughter. "She's going to send me back to Beauxbatons. Okay, sure I pulled some pranks there and hexed some idiots, but I was a lone wolf, not too much I could do. This is a whole other scale."

"No way she screams like my mum…" James muttered moodily. "At least Fred's dad will be proud of him, and his mum just stopped caring after second year." Indeed, Fred was simply playing with the soap.

"FRED! CLEAN!" Marie Josephine yelled, sending a wet sponge to his head.

"Ouch, woman, what was that for?" And he sent her the sponge back. They battled for about twenty minutes until they were too tired to reach for more water. Thankfully, this was also helping with the cleaning as most of the floor was now soaked.

"Well, that was fun…" Fred began, before James pressed a scrub to his face. "Ah, come on, man, it's over. I give up, too tired." James, pleased with his victory, was about to dance around when Marie Josephine threw herself on his back and tackled him to the ground.

"Did you forget about me?" and she proceeded to plaster him with water.

"Ah! YUCK that was nasty. Okay, I give up! I give UP!"

"That's more like it. Now let's clean this mess, or I swear, McGonagall will hex us so bad we won't know our ass from our face. She looked so mad."

"She did, didn't she?"

"It was worth it." Fred said, shrugging. And so, the three spent their Halloween night scrubbing the Great Hall until they fell asleep at about five in the morning in a heap of limbs on the Hufflepuff table. That is how McGonagall found them. She shook them gently and they woke up, groggily scratching their heads.

"You may go. Thank you for cleaning this all up. Oh, and by the way, this was some impressive magic. I can't imagine the spells you must have used to manipulate all those suits. I think Peeves is waiting outside to become your slave. Good day."

The three headed out into the hall, where the Poltergeist was waiting for them. He looked at them wearily, and then said:

"That was great. James Potter and Fred Weasley would've liked you." And then left. Marie Josephine looked at her two friends who stood there, looking at the spot where Peeves had been. She hugged them tightly and left towards her Common Room for a much needed shower, and a long nap. These were things beyond her understanding, and it was not her place to intervene.


	8. Chapter 8

November went by quick and cold. The Seventh Year Students were crawling under homework and threats of failing their NEWTs. Fortunately, December came around, with Christmas holidays, a Hogsmeade weekend and a Quidditch game: Gryffindor against Slytherin. Probably one of the most heated games of the year. Where House rivalries were milder, they had not diminished on the pitch. Marie Josephine had heard so much about those games; she spent the whole week fidgeting on her seat. Lee and her were on personal bodyguard duty. They made sure nothing happened to Fred, Oscar or James. The rest of the team, which consisted of Roxanne, Albus, Andrew Thomas and Lily Potter, was also under heavy protection. The same was happening on the Slytherin side. The air ringed with tension by the time Saturday morning came, and it felt good to watch the players fly away when the game started.

"Welcome to the second game of the year. Slytherin comes in: Captain and Keeper Flint, Seeker Malfoy, Chasers Pomfrey, Lewis and Patil, Beaters Edwards and Baker. Gryffindor on the other side: Captain and beater Potter, Beater Weasley, Keeper Wood, Chasers Thomas, Potter and Weasley, Seeker Potter. The captains step forward, squeeze hands and walk back to their teams. A few words and they are off. Professor Flint releases the snitch, the Bludgers and the Quaffle! The game has started. As you may see, the conditions are reasonable. Sky is relatively clear, just a bit too cold; mind your fingers so they don't freeze. All right, Slytherin is on a roll, 10-0. Come on Gryffindor, don't let me down, I bet most of my pocket money!"

"Jordan, focus!"

"Sorry, as I was saying, Slytherin has the offensive lead. But the Gryffindor beaters seem to have the upper hand, they have managed to retrieve the Quaffle for their chasers a number of times. All right, Potter, Weasley, Potter, Thomas and he scores! 10-10! Keep it going!"

Two hours later, the game was still going. Marie Josephine felt like she was going to turn to an ice cube. The score was 150-20 for Slytherin. Oscar had been knocked out after twenty minutes of game and there was no stopping the Quaffle from going through the hoops. James was frantic and the chasers were panicking, causing several and avoidable mistakes. Of course, the best way to beat Gryffindor was to destroy their moral. Smart.

"Oh, Potter has seen the snitch. Damn, that kid is fast. Oh, another goal from Slytherin! Come on move your…"

"Jordan!"

"BROOM. I was going to say broom. MOVE IT! And Malfoy closes in. Oh feel the power of rivalry, my friends. Come on! And Potter pulls up; he's caught the snitch. Gryffindor wins 170-160! Oh yes, I'll still be able to buy some Christmas presents! Thanks for coming!"

Marie Josephine rushed onto the pitch. She hugged Roxanne, who was closest to her, and then she hugged James and Fred at the same time.

"Alright, well played, mates!"

"Thanks, that was tough, I thought we'd lost it by the end."

"Yeah, thank Morgana for Al having kept his cool."

"How about Oscar?" Marie Josephine asked suddenly. She had nearly forgotten about it. Grabbing Fred and James and their brooms, she pulled them a bit further. Mounting behind Fred, they shot up in the air. They picked Lee up from the commenting stands and flew to the Hospital Wing.

"Oscar!" they called as they landed in front of his bed.

"GET OUT!" a shrill cry came from behind them.

"Oh, crap." They climbed back onto the brooms and flew out of reach. "We'll be back, Oggy-poo!" they called to their still unconscious friend as they disappeared down the halls.

Oscar only woke up on Monday afternoon. He had a severe concussion and a few broken ribs. He was out on Friday night and thankfully was allowed to go to Hogsmeade the next day, as long as he steered clear of any trouble. Unlikely, but at least he was out. He had actually planned on asking Marie Josephine out. As in, ask her out on a date, but his plans were flushed down the toilet by his accident. He still tried to get her alone on Saturday morning and that is why he was waiting in front of the Hufflepuff Common Room, waiting for her to come down. She was wearing a lame Christmas sweater under her cloak and had transfigured her usual hat into a Santa Claus one.

"Hey Oscar, what are you doing here?"

"Hey MJ… Ermmm, I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date today. Like lunch or something. I meant to ask you before, but then I was stuck in the hospital and…"

"Oscar."

"Yes?"

"Of course I'd like to go on a date with you. Let's just ditch the guys at Zonko's, okay?"

"Really? Erm, yeah sure, it's a date then." She took his hand. Boy, weren't people so awkward with their feelings. She had her doubts on who Oscar's crush was, and he had just proved her point. Also, since Lee was busy trying to get Roxanne to understand his real feelings without Fred noticing and James desperately tried to court Astrid, she had spent a lot more time with Fred and Oscar, giving her time to understand who the latter had crushed on, while Fred had had a fling with a sixth year girl, he had steered away from girls, which was, apparently, a very odd behavior.

And so Oscar and Marie Josephine found themselves sitting across from each other at the three broomsticks. They had been glared at by almost everyone that had walked by, and at some point Marie Josephine discretely hexed a Fifth year who was trying to get Oscar to notice her.

"So, Oscar, what are you doing over Christmas break?"

"I'm spending Christmas with my family. And then I'm going to the Ministry Ball for New Year's. You probably will too. I might hang at the Burrow on Boxing Day."

"The Burrow?"

"Yeah, Fred and James's Gran's place."

"Oh, yeah, I remember."

"They usually have this epic Quidditch game."

"Ah, awesome."

"Yeah, their parents play with them. It's great. And Mrs. Weasley is probably the best cook in the world."

"Ah, I really want to meet her."

"You should. I mean, all the Weasleys are really nice. A bit weird sometimes, but awfully nice."

"Ah, the boys are coming over." Marie Josephine said. Oscar's weary look was priceless.

"Oscar, MJ, what's…"

"Oh."

"My."

"You guys are on a date?"

"We are on a date." Marie Josephine said with a smile. Oscar was completely white.

"Well, guess we owe you a galleon Lee. I didn't think he'd work out the balls to ask you, MJ."

"I can't believe you bet on us, guys, that's just so weird."

"Nah, it was really obvious."

"James? It wasn't. Astrid told him." Fred explained, shoving his cousin out of the way. "And he told us."

I laughed at them. Astrid was now an intermittent member of their group. She was actually the only girl Marie Josephine truly got along with, except maybe for Roxanne and Dominique Weasley. They had Arithmancy together, and since the Quidditch game, they always paired up. She did not have many friends, Marie Josephine later found out. Most people only sat with her because she was the top of the year and they wanted to get good grades. Sometimes, people could be pricks. Just like they judged the Potters and the Weasleys because they were famous and heroes of the war, they had put Astrid in the box of the brainiac. It was sickening. She had found her place in their small group. She usually forced them to study with her, or accompany her to the library, which had been extremely helpful for the five others.

"Well, anyways, we ARE on a date, so move along, groupies." Marie Josephine pushed her friends away from her table. She grabbed Oscar's hand and dragged him out of the pub. "Wakey, Wakey! Let's move, before they decide to follow us. Besides, I have some Christmas shopping to finish."

"Yeah, me too." Said Oscar, emerging from his paralysis. "Sorry about that, I thought they would make fun of me."

"Don't worry about it. They're just stupid and jealous 'cuz they're pining after girls they can't have." This seemed to make Oscar relax. "Come, let's move."

'Why won't this old thing move any faster?' Marie Josephine thought for the hundredth time. She was on the train back to London. Christmas holidays had finally arrived and she could not wait to go back home. She would be spending Christmas with her wizard relatives, which she hadn't in a long time, due to her living in France. Then she would go to the Ministry Ball with Astrid. Her date with Oscar had been nice, but when they had kissed at the end, it had felt so wrong Marie Josephine took it upon herself to save Oscar the awkwardness and told him they were better off as friends. They agreed and decided the other three monkeys did not need to know anything. Thanks to Roxanne, they had not asked, and Marie Josephine felt eternally grateful, and glad she had gotten a good Christmas present for the girl. She was now alone in a compartment, her headphones on her head. Her mother had sent a portable charger the night before so Marie Josephine could use her phone. Oh, how she had missed Muggle music, and the comfort of her headphones and of her Muggle clothes! She was about to fall asleep when a whistle blew, announcing the arrival to King's Cross station. Leaping out of her seat, Marie Josephine grabbed her bag and her trunk and rushed down the corridor. As soon as the doors opened, she was out, like a giddy little child and ran towards her father, whom she had spotted right away.

"DAD!" She leaped into his arms.

"Hello, Marie Jo, how are you?"

"I'm great. Ah, I missed you so much. Is _Maman_ here too?"

"Yes, outside the barrier. She was quite impatient."

"So was I. I felt like the train ride would never end. Well, I'll just go say bye to my friends, and we can go." She turned around to find her Oscar, Fred, Lee and James smiling at her.

"Ah, guys, this is my dad. Dad, this is James Potter, Fred Weasley, Lee Jordan and Oscar Wood."

"Nice to meet you boys." He said shaking hands with each of them.

"Hello, Mr. Wright."

"Nice to meet you too."

"It's a pleasure, Mr. Wright."

"You sure don't look like MJ much."

"Fred, you don't say things like that. Can't you just keep quiet."

"Yeah, whatever MJ. C'me here." He grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a side hug. She then hugged all the boys and wished them a Merry Christmas, promising to write soon and to see each other at the Ball.

"Bye Mr. Wright! Bye MJ!"

"See you!"

"Well, they sure are interesting."

"Well… I suppose. Oh, there's Astrid too. I want you to meet her too. Hey, Astrid!"

"Oh, hi Marie Jo. Hello. You must be Mr. Wright."

"Hello. Yes that is me. You're Astrid, right?"

"Yep."

"Ah, thanks for keeping my daughter in check. Well, at least for trying to."

"Of course, Mr. Wright." Astrid replied, laughing. "I do my best!"

"Is your father waiting on the other side?" Marie Josephine asked. She really did not need the 'your friend is so much better behaved than you are' talk in the car.

"Yes."

"Well, we'll walk with you. _Maman_ is also on the other side." The two girls grabbed their things and made their way to the barrier, where people were already going out. They pushed their trolleys towards the barrier and made their way through, followed by Michael.

" _MAMAN_!"

"DAD!"

Astrid flew into her dad's open arms as Marie Josephine engulfed her mother in her arms.

"It's good to see you!" they said simultaneously.

"Mum, this is my friend Astrid Mayers."

"Dad, this is my friend Marie Jo Wright."

"Hello Astrid. Pleased to meet you Mr. Mayers."

"Pleased to meet, Mrs. Wright. Nice to finally meet you, Marie Jo."

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Mayers. This is my dad."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Mayers."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Wright."

"Well, Astrid, Merry Christmas then!" Marie Josephine hugged her friend. She knew she usually apparated by to her house by the seaside, since taking the Muggle transports took way too long. Her father had still insisted on coming to see her.

"Merry Christmas to you too. Owl me a soon as you're back home, okay?"

"Will do! Merry Christmas, Mr. Mayers."

"Merry Christmas, Marie Jo. Mr. Wright, Mrs. Wright." And with that, Astrid dragged him behind a pillar and disapparated.

" _Marie Josephine! Tu m'as tellement manqué! Laisse-moi te regarder. Ah, l'air écossais ne te va pas. Comment va ton poignet? Et tes notes? J'espère que tu n'as pas fait trop de dégâts… Il ne manquerait plus que ça!"_ Marie Josephine exchanged a knowing glance with her father at that last line, thanking him for not telling her about too much of her antics. Fortunately, he did not know about the prank they had pulled at the feast the night before. McGonagall was fuming so badly Marie Josephine thought she was going to blow.

"Nah, I did alright, _Maman, ne t'inquiète pas. C'est dommage que tu n'ai pas rencontré Fred, James, Oscar et Lee. Mais ils seront au Bal du Ministère, tu pourras les voir à ce moment là."_

"Ladies, I love you very much, but please switch to English. For me?"

"Ah, come on dad, French is nicer!"

"Yes, but everyone's giving us these looks."

"Ah, Michael, you sure are very demanding 'usband."

"Please, Marguerite, don't be mad…"

"Drop it, dad, you'll only make it worse. Let's go home, I'm hungry."

"Ah, Marie Josephine, you are alwayz 'ungry, not very girly."

"Well, for your information I went on a date with a guy so you have got nothing to say."

" _Vraiment?"_

"Who was it? Only one date? Did he do something?"

"I went with Oscar. It was nice but we thought friends suited us better. We're fine, really."

"Are you sure?"

"Dad. Stop, it's embarrassing."

"Sorry." He did not seem very sorry at all but Marie Josephine decided to ignore that point. Since she did not have any brothers, it was her father's job to be overprotective and to give her boyfriends mean looks. But sometimes it was just too much.

Christmas had been fairly enjoyable. Her British relatives were a lot more fun than her French, snobby ones. Plus they were wizards for the most part, so the presents and decoration had been great. Her grandmother was a witch, a descendant from the Black family-lineage, and her grandfather was a Muggle-born wizard, hence the name Wright. She had received some of the greatest presents ever: Astrid gave her a beautiful set of quills and notebooks carved with dragons, Fred sent her a huge WWW gift box that she had been afraid to open in public, Oscar sent her a book on British Quidditch and a Puddlemere United sweatshirt, James sent her a broom-keeping kit and Lee gave her a beautiful flower that changed color according to the owner's mood. Gemma, Daisy and Leo sent some candy and Grant sent her a bracelet with an amber pearl, reminder of her belonging in Hufflepuff. She received a beautiful necklace from her mother, posters of Quidditch players from her dad, some pocket money and wizarding accessories from her grandparents. They had been thrilled to see their granddaughter again, which had not been able to visit since she was eleven years old and began her education as a witch.

It was now New Year's Eve. Marie Josephine was waiting for Astrid's arrival, which would be any time now, the latter having agreed to accompany the former to the party. A knock on the door was heard, followed by Marie Josephine ungratefully tumbling down the stairs to meet her friend.

"Astrid!" she exclaimed upon opening the door. "How are you? Come in, come in."

"Hey, Marie Jo. I'm good, thanks. How was Christmas? Thanks for the discs, by the way. I've been listening to the Weird Sisters' one over and over, it's my favorite. My brothers won't leave them alone either."

"Ha, well, I figured you wouldn't know too much about wizarding music." Marie Josephine imagined Astrid's twin Muggle brothers playing with the magical music discs. She had seen some pictures of them and they were probably the two most adorable people in the world. They were only 10, a lot younger than Astrid. Her mother had died very soon after their birth, which must have been terrible for the young girl and her father.

"You're right. My grandparents only listen to lame, old, classical music."

"Hello Astrid, welcome to our house."

"Oh, hello Mr. Wright, how are you?"

"Good, thank you. Please, come and have a seat in the living room for a little before you head upstairs to get ready."

"Of course." Astrid bent down to remove her shoes while Marie Josephine hung her coat on the rack. The former was wearing simple Muggle clothes, much like Marie Josephine herself: jeans and a colored sweater. Astrid also had a large bag, since she was staying over at her friend's place.

"Hello, Mrs. Wright!" Astrid greeted when entering the living room.

"'Ello, Astrid, dear, 'ow are you?"

"I'm great. Did you have a nice Christmas?"

"Well, yes, I suppoze, but you see, people 'ere are so very different from French people. It's quite… em whatz ze word… odd, I guess."

"I can imagine. And, I mean, thank God it's so different, otherwise things would be rather boring."

"I reckon so. Would you like something to drink?"

"No, I'm alright, thank you very much." The two girls talked with Michael and Marguerite for a while, the latter fell in love with Astrid as she finally had someone to share Muggle references with. Oh, and clothing and hair tips too.

"Well, _Maman_ , dad, I'm gonna take Astrid to my room, okay?"

"Of course. We 'ave to go out anywayz, your fazer doez not own a decent piece of clozing."

"But, Marguerite, I have to wear dress robes, and those are perfectly fine."

"No zey are not. I understand you 'ave to wear dress robez but zat doez not mean zey 'ave to be _MOCHE_!"

"Alright, I'll leave you two to that passionate subject. Come Astrid, before mum also starts getting mad at me."

"Um, okay…"

Marie Josephine took her friend up the stairs to her room. It was a nice, well-lit room. Marie Josephine had covered the wall in Quidditch posters as well as Hufflepuff colored decorations. The floor was covered in clothes, books and parchments, the bed was not made, there was not an inch of the desk that could be properly used, and yet the worse was yet to be seen. The closet. It was nearly empty yet it still looked like the biggest mess Astrid had ever seen.

"Wow, so… Nice room."

"Oh, shut it!" Astrid received a well-aimed pillow in the face. "You sound like my mum. I mean look at what she had me wear!" She pointed at the jeans and V-neck sweater. "I look lame."

"Um, I'm dressed almost like you… Are you saying I dress lamely?"

"No, I'm saying it's not my style. I don't wear this kind of clothes. But she wanted me to show that 'it mattered you came". I don't think it's gonna change much on how much you matter to me whether I look like I just rolled out of bed or actually wasted time getting ready." Marie Josephine was in a full rant on her mother-daughter issues and Astrid could not help but smile sadly at the thought. Sure, her grandmother argued with her but it was nothing like a good old mum-daughter argument. "No, but the worse is that she doesn't like my outfit for tonight. I actually spent time picking it."

"Really, what are you wearing?"

"This." Marie Josephine rolled around to reveal a black pantsuit.

"A pantsuit? So you're going Muggle too."

"Yeah. How about you?"

"Well…" Astrid grabbed a black, mid-length dress from her bag. It had small copper pearls at the helm, a reminder of Astrid's hair.

"Wow, it's nice. Trying to impress someone, are we?"

"Oh, shove it. I wanted to ask, did you help out with his Christmas present?"

"Nope. Actually, he wouldn't even show it to me… That prick."

"Oh, it must've been Lily then. Well, he sent this." She extended her arm to reveal a beautiful charm bracelet.

"Dayuum. Ah, why won't he make a move? I mean, you guys have been getting along better, haven't you? And it's obvious you like him, even Fred's noticed something." Astrid blushed. "Oh, don't be embarrassed, you're perfect for each other."

"I don't know. I mean, it's just so weird that he won't make a move. Maybe he doesn't like me that way." Josephine choked on her own laughter. She had been forbidden by both parties to tell the other anything about their feelings and it was getting both tiring and even funnier.

"Puh-lease. It's 100% obvious he's got the mickey for you. Well, more than the mickey, I'd say, but once again, not the expert here." She kept dropping hints but they just wouldn't bite. They spent the afternoon talking and catching up on Christmas. After laughing about all their stupid family stories, Marie Josephine's mum burst in the room, already wearing a beautiful evening gown.

" _QUOI?! Vous n'êtes pas encore prêtes? MARIE JOSEPHINE!_ "

" _Maman_ , calm down!" The two girls were battling with the zipper of Astrid's dress. Marie Josephine was already wearing her pantsuit with a pair of black converse. Her mother gave her a disapproving look.

"Let me 'elp." She grabbed the zipper and unstuck it in the blink of an eye. "Alright, your 'air. You 'ave such nice 'air, Astrid, it would be a shame to tie it up. Let's curl it. Marie Josephine, why don't you magic your 'air a bit longer so we can make a bun. You are not wearing zat rat's nest to a Ministry Ball." She looked like a general on a fashion battlefield. Marie Josephine lost count of how many times she rolled her eyes, but at last, they were ready, grabbed their cloaks and apparated to the party.


	9. Chapter 9

"Argh, dress robes are so uncomfortable!" Lee moaned. He had arrived extra early to the party, his father wanted to get as many jokes in for his radio program as possible. James and Fred had arrived together not too long later, since Mr. Potter had to check on the security. Finally, Oscar had arrived, looking pretty miffed at the idea of spending time away from his bed. They had all been forced by their mothers to wear dress robes and were regretting not rebelling.

"This is going to be long…" Fred muttered. His and James' mums had confiscated their wands as well as any WWW products.

"Oh, come on, it won't be that bad." Roxanne patted him on the back. "Marie Jo's coming isn't she? And so is Astrid. James, I swear to Dumbledore if you don't do something about her tonight I'll kick you so hard you won't be able to sit for a month." James bounced back a little. He knew what his cousin is capable and did not want to incur her wrath.

"I'll do my best." Raised eyebrow. Well, better than getting hit.

"Oh, look, MJ and Astrid are here." Oscar pointed towards the apparition point. The two girls handed their cloaks to the two house elves standing near. Marie Josephine looked amazingly groomed and yet so much like herself. Her pantsuit fit her body perfectly. Her back was completely bare, and her hair was tied in a beautiful yet messy-styled bun, with strands of hair falling from everywhere. But what really struck James was Astrid. Her dress only reached her knee, which was so refreshing compared to all the women wearing dress robes. She was wearing a pair of heels and her hair was curled down her shoulders. She was wearing makeup, contrary to Marie Josephine, it seemed. She looked too good for poor James, who whimpered a little when he saw her.

"Jamesie-poo, you okay in there?" Oscar asked. He had a small smirk on his lips.

"Hm-hm. I think so." He managed weakly.

"ASTRID! MARIE JO!" Roxanne waved eagerly their way. The two girls spotted her immediately and rushed over to hug her tightly.

"ROXY!"

"Ah, thank Merlin you're here. These four are so boring; I thought I was going to die. By the way, you look great. I'm so jealous you're wearing Muggle! My mum got me this stupid evening gown, it's awful." She twirled her dark purple gown.

"I think it looks great, Roxy." Astrid smiled gently.

"Me too."

"You guys got nothing to complain about, you don't have to wear these stupid DRESS ROBES." James replied angrily.

"Aww, someone's upset?" Marie Josephine teased in a singsong voice. "Perhaps you'd be more comfortable in the thongs I'm wearing?" The boys blushed bright red at this statement. "Cat got your tongues?" This caused Astrid and Roxanne to break into loud fits of laughter, attracting looks their way.

"Shove it, will you?" Oscar muttered. "Anyways, I have to find my parents, they want me to meet a bunch of stupid people I don't care about." He left and walked gloomily over to Oliver Wood and Katie Wood, née Bell, who were talking to a few important looking men.

"Well, MJ, Astrid, come and meet the Weasley clan." Fred motioned over to the redheaded crowd. Roxanne and Lee took Astrid's arms; Fred and James took Marie Josephine's and dragged them across the room. Everyone was there, from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to Theodore Lupin, from Victoire to Hugo. It was a complete information overload and Astrid and Marie Josephine kept throwing each other supportive looks.

"Oh, Marie Jo, there's something important I have to tell you." Bill Weasley called to her. "My brother Charlie, he was supposed to be here, but there have been several issues in the Eastern countries and his trip has been lengthened a bit. He should be here tomorrow or the day after. He really hopes to meet you before you have to go back to Hogwarts. He seemed very eager to have you as an intern."

"Oh, really? Well, it would be really nice to see him. I think he wanted to meet me before officially saying yes to the internship." Marie Josephine was feeling somewhat intimidated by this tall man and his scars. He seemed nice, but something about him, perhaps the 'older-brother-aura' made him a whole lot scarier than the other Weasleys.

"Oh, from what I've heard from the twins, James and Dom, you'll do great."

"Dom? She talks about me?"

"Well, yes, you've made quite an impression on my daughter. I must say, most of my nephews hold you in great esteem. Molly and perhaps Lucy might be the only ones that are a bit … reticent, but it's all right. They take after their father Percy."

"Oh, yes. Well, I think Lucy likes me all right. Not so sure about Molly. She thinks I'm a bad influence… Although, if you want my opinion, no influence can be a bad influence for Fred and James. Those two are incredible."

"Indeed. They take after their namesakes." He smiled sadly.

"It's zeir way of up'olding zeir memory." A voice said from behind Marie Josephine. She turned around to find Fleur Delacour, whom she had not met yet. "In zeir odd way. You must be _Marie Josephine_ , yes?"

" _Oui, c'est bien moi, Madame."_

" _Ah, une française. Enfin quelqu'un de délicat dans ce pays de barbares."_ Marie Josephine laughed.

" _Je ne pense pas être la meilleure personne à qui dire ça. Mais Maman serait parfaitement d'accord avec vous. Je dois absolument vous la presenter. Elle m'en voudrait terriblement si je ne le fesait pas_." She spotted her mum and dad talking to a few people a bit further down the room. Walking over to them, she excused her mother from the boring looking Ministry officials _. "Maman, voici Fleur Weasley."_

"'Ello, Mrs. Weasley. Pleasure to meet you."

" _Non, rien de cela, le français me va très bien."_

" _Ah, je me disais bien qu'une femme aussi gracieuse que vous ne pouvait venir de ce pauvre pays de barbares."_

" _Ah, vous me flattez…"_ Marie Josephine escaped quickly from the two women as they blabbered about France and fashion and topics far beyond her comfort zone.

"Hey, MJ, where'd you go?"

"Oh, Fred, sorry, I was introducing your Aunt Fleur and my mum. I think they may have just become best friends."

"Oh, smart way to get rid of your parents."

"I know right. I'm so great. Hey, do you want to dance?" Fred looked wearily at the dance floor. An orchestra was playing on a small stage and a few people were waltzing. "Come on, it's not hard."

"Ah, okay." He let Marie Josephine drag him to the center of the room. "Oh, let's get James to dance with Astrid too."

"Good idea. Let's challenge them to a dance off."

"Can you have a dance off while waltzing?"

"Why not? It's dancing, isn't it?" They had finally gotten James's attention, who was talking with Astrid, Roxanne and Lee. They motioned for them to join them on the dance floor. Lee shook his head but Roxanne grabbed his hand, aware of what Fred and Marie Josephine were doing. The look on his face was priceless: both fear and absolute embarrassment. He was about to waltz with his crush. But the funnier were Astrid and James. They were redder than the tablecloths and looked terribly uncomfortable. James finally worked up his courage to extend his hand and Astrid timidly took it. Marie Josephine had to clap her hand on Fred's mouth to stop him from wolf whistling. The three pairs danced around each other. Marie Josephine gave Lee a wink, and supportive smiles to both James and Astrid, who were looking at their feet, avoiding eye contact and the awkwardness of standing so close to each other.

"Hey, MJ, it's New Year's soon."

"Yes, I'm aware, thank you."

"No, the New Year's kiss. Mistletoe…" Bewildered face. "Astrid and James kissing under the mistletoe."

"Oh… But we're going to have to force them; otherwise they'll just stand there awkwardly. And there can't be anyone nearby. Those stupid paparazzi's will scare her away." Marie Josephine had been able to avoid drawing to much attention after befriending the four boys. Her other actions had made too much noise for people to remember that she was the only girl in a group of five, tightly-knit friends where four of them were the most eligible bachelors of the wizarding world.

"Well, you know the Hogwarts mistletoe?"

"The one that chases you around?"

"That one. Well, we don't have to get it to chase them around, but we can use that spell that requires the two people to stay stuck under there until they kiss."

"Ah, that is BRILLIANT." Marie Josephine exclaimed.

"Shhhh, they'll hear." She looked over Fred's shoulder to spy on her friends, still as awkward as ever. "Morgana's left breast, they are so lame."

"Morgana's left breast? And then you say Merlin's testicle is inappropriate?"

"I never said that. Roxy did. And Astrid probably."

"Ah, yeah, you're right… Oh, look at Oggy's partner." They both stopped dancing. Oscar had just walked onto the dance floor holding the hand of a beautiful, Asian looking girl.

"Wow, she's pretty."

"Who is she, though? I've never seen her at Hogwarts and she can't be that much older than us…"

"She's Lina Kondo. Her father's a Japanese ambassador. He works for their Ministry of Magic. He's really scary. I've met her once, in France. She's a bit, erm, slow." Fred looked at her with eyebrows raised.

"Damn, you know everybody."

"Dad's a big deal, you know. Everyone forgets that… But he's a famous diplomat, I've met most Ministers of magic, or equivalents, in most countries with an organized magical community."

"I knew there was some way for you to be useful."

"I can probably throw you in jail too, you know." She smirked knowingly. "You'd never see it coming, and you'd never come back either."

"Oh, now that was scary. Don't do that."

"That what?" she said now in a normal voice and a bright smile.

"Ok, I thought Aunt Ginny was sneaky, but you are a thousand times worse. Say, let's go back to mistletoe plan."

"We have to get them to a back room or hallway. I can put the spell on the mistletoe."

"Okay, I'll handle them. New Year's is in seven minutes exactly, so hurry." Marie Josephine patted Fred's back and headed for a corner of the room. A few branches of mistletoe were hanging here and there. She stole one and escaped to the bathroom.

"Embaranium." She muttered. The mistletoe glowed pink and then settled down, still and seemingly innocent. With a chuckle, Marie Josephine exited the stall. She went looking for a room or corner where she could get Astrid and James to meet up. Up ahead was a small statue of some old ministry, and behind it a small nook. 'Perfect', she thought. It was close yet not too close. Now they just needed an excuse to get them both there. Back in the ballroom, the seventh year couples had given up on dancing, preferring instead to lounge around the bar.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey!"

"Sorry, thongs are awful."

"I do not need to know the rest, MJ." Oscar muttered.

"Oh, Merlin, I lost an earring. It must have fallen on my way back from the bathroom! Astrid, Roxy, can you come help me look."

"Ah, sure MJ…" the three girls made their way back where Marie Josephine came from. The French girl did not waste a second to wink at her partner in mischief. Fred nodded faintly in response.

"Say, boys, I might go for a walk around, who's up?"

"I think I'll go with you." James replied instantly. He knew midnight was close and definitely did not want to end up alone while watching his own siblings have a better love life than himself. On the other hand, Lee and Oscar preferred to stay, the first because he hoped Roxy would be back soon, the second because a Japanese beauty was still on his mind.

"Ah, where is it."

"Can't you Accio it?" Roxy moaned.

"No, it's South African gold, impermeable to magic, remember?"

"Oh, that's a pity. Maybe it could reflect light? The floor is black it could be a good idea." Astrid suggested.

"Oh, yeah. Say, Astrid, would you keep looking for the earring here in the hallway. Roxy, gimme a hand in the bathroom." Marie Josephine pulled her friend by the sleeve and shoved her in the bathroom.

"You brute, I'm not one of the boys!"

"Shush, Fred and James are coming!" Indeed, the two cousins were innocently strolling in the corridors.

"Oh, look, it's Astrid. Hey Astrid, how's it going?"

"Hey Fred. James. I'm looking for Marie Jo's earring. She's in the bathroom with Roxy."

"Ah, yeah. Well James, why don't you help Astrid, I'll move over further down the corridor?" As soon as the redhead was out of reach, Marie Josephine, who had been spying from the bathroom door, levitated the mistletoe and placed it right over James and Astrid's hair. When the two lovebirds realized they were stuck within one foot of each other, they blushed darker than the red decorations on the ceiling. Fred burst out laughing and ran away, grabbing his sister and friend on the way.

"Perfect timing Fred, it was about to get awkward. And New Year's is in a few seconds." Marie Josephine chocked out between fits of laughter. They raced to the ballroom, where the countdown had just begun.

"I should find my parents!"

"Yes, we should do the same!" Fred yelled over the cheers. "See you later."

 _ **Dear MJ,**_

 _ **My Uncle Charlie arrived just a few minutes ago. Perhaps you can stop by tomorrow for lunch? He really wants to meet you. Actually, most of my family wants to meet you at this point. Oliver was here for Boxing Day and he praised your Quidditch so much he made you sound better than Krum himself. I'll get Fred, Oscar and Lee to come over too, that way we can spend the day together.**_

 _ **See you then,**_

 _ **James Potter.**_

Marie Josephine quickly replied and went back to bed. It was January first and much too early for her to be out of bed. But James's owl had woken her up. Astrid was still sprawled on her bed, breathing slowly. Unable to fall back, asleep, Marie Josephine stood up and went to the bathroom, groggily greeting her parents on the way. When she returned, Astrid was awake.

"'Lo, did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thanks."

"Would you like to eat something?"

"Nah, I had too much at the party yesterday… By the way, we have something very important to discuss, Ms. Sneaky! What was the mistletoe about yesterday?! You traitor, it was so awkward."

"Tell me you kissed."

"Of course, or we would have been stuck under there forever. But I didn't want it to happen like that."

"Child, you danced together most of the night and never left each other's side. We just gave you a small push. James is a total wreck when it comes to love stuff, but really, you are no better."

"Oh, shut it! Now what do I do? It's going to be so awkward."

"You could go on a date?"

"What?"

"Well, we have two days before going back to Hogwarts. Diagon-Alley is open."

"But!"

"He is not going to ask you, I suggest you take the matter into your own hands. Now, get out of bed, we have stuff to do!" Marie Josephine grabbed her friend by the feet and pulled her from the bed. She cleared away some space on her desk and pulled a parchment and a quill.

"Alright, sit!" She pushed Astrid onto the chair. "Alright, start with Dear James."

"Do you really have to-"

"-I do. Now focus. Dear James. I had a great time yesterday. I was wondering if you were free tomorrow, we could go to Diagon-Alley for a bit. Kisses, Astrid."

"Kisses? No one sends kisses in a letter."

"Oh, sorry, it's a French thing, I forgot."

"What should I say then?"

"Ermmm. _Maman, Astrid veux envoyer une letter a son_ crush _, qu'est-ce qu'elle met?"_

" _Un crush? Euh, Je t'embrasse, Au plaisir, Avec impatience, je sais pas!"_

"Ok, merci! All right write something like, hugs or impatiently waiting or something. Be a little teasing, he's really insecure."

"Ok, maybe I'll write 'don't mess up your hair too much, Astrid.'"

"Oh, yeah perfect!"

"MJ, help!" Astrid had barely left seconds before that Marie Josephine's fireplace was invaded by a very nervous James and a laughing Fred.

"Good Lord, what's going on James?"

"Astrid asked me out!"

"Oh, yes I know."

"What?"

"She was here until seconds ago, I helped her write the letter." Marie Josephine rolled her eyes. "Come say hi to my parents, we'll go to my room to talk strategy." The boys quickly greeted Mr. and Mrs. Wright and raced to Marie Josephine's room.

"Alright, what do I do?"

"Well, you say yes, of course."

"But..."

"James, shut it. There are no buts your crush just asked you on a date, end of story." Fred muttered, bordering on anger.

"Sorry, I'm just not processing." He replied to the letter and sent out Astrid's owl, which he had brought along.

"So, what do I wear?"

"I don't know! Something nice, but not too nice. I think she's going to wear a dress, so she's making an effort, and so should you."

"But, I have mostly wizard robes, that's not really the best."

"Fred?"

"Hmm, yeah?"

"Stop going through my drawers, thank you. James, relax, don't you have a pair of jeans and a polo shirt?"

"No." Marie Josephine sighed in desperation. "Am I going to have to go shopping with you?" James nodded. "Alright, but everything is closed today. Maybe _Maman_ can help. Come."

"Marie Josephine, what can I 'elp you wiz?"

"Well, James here has a date and no Muggle clothes. Would you help us with picking an outfit for him?"

"But, shopz are closed today."

"Exactly why I'm asking you. We can transfigure things for you, etc. and you can make him a nice outfit. Please?" Marguerite raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Please, Mrs. Wright, I really, really like this girl. Please help me, I am rubbish at this kind of stuff."

"Alright, James, I'll lend you a 'and. Come." She led the boys to her office, or rather workshop, where she came up with all her designs and first prototypes.

"Alright, jeanz and a polo shirt, I suppose?"

"Yes, please."

" _Marie Josephine, ciseaux, un tissu jean, et je crois j'ai de la maille de coton._ James, you do have jumperz, yes?"

"Yes, ma'am."

" _Parfait. Marie Josephine, ciseaux!_ "

The woman spent two hours under the interested eye of the three teenagers, sewing things together, taking James's measurement, etc. Before long, she had completed the outfit and James was ecstatic.

"Thank you, ma'am, thank you so, so much."

"Oh, it's nothing dear. And don't you worry, Astrid is just as nervous. I also helped pick her outfit." James blushed crimson and Fred and Marie Josephine broke out in laughter at his bewildered face.

The next morning was a mess, James stopped over again to make sure his outfit was fine, and his hair all right, and what not. Astrid called, Muggle phone of course, about a thousand times the night before and a few more hundred that very morning. And in the middle, Marie Josephine was getting ready for her most important lunch at the Burrow and unique opportunity to meet the famous Charlie Weasley. Amongst others, that is.

"For Morgana's sake, will you just go? You have to pick Astrid up and seeing how crazy you're going, you might need to be there a bit early to finally get yourself to ring the door. Now go, go, go!" Marie Josephine pushed her friend out the door. "I said NOW!" She slammed the door shut in James's face. 'Ugh, why am I such a reliable friend again?' she thought darkly. She herself was on a tight schedule, Morgana help her, and she really did not have time to deal with lovesick teenagers.

" _Maman!_ Dad! I have to go! The Weasleys will be waiting!"

"Of course, dear."

" _Ne t'impose pas, hein? Et sois polie, je t'en prie."_

" _Oui, Maman…"_ Marie Josephine grabbed some Floo powder and placed herself in the chimney. She had never been to the Burrow, forcing her to use the most detestable and uncouth possible method of travel: the Floo network. After the glorious feeling of getting your bellybutton stretched across the world and getting a glimpse at every single fireplace of England, she landed in a huge living room with a crooked ceiling and even more crooked walls. An elderly woman was sitting nearby, knitting, while an elderly man was tinkering with what looked like Muggle objects.

"Erm, hello?" Their heads snapped up.

"Oh, hello there, Marie Josephine! Fred is upstairs. FRED!"

"Ah, it's ok, I can just go up there…"

"CHARLIE!"

"Ah…"

"Molly, you're scaring the child."

"Arthur, please, she's even more of a tomboy than Ginny ever was, from what I understand, you need more than a mother shouting to possibly even startle her."

"Oh, Molly. Forgive us, Marie Josephine."

"It's alright, sir. Thank you for having me, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh, don't you worry, one more, one less, what difference can it make?" She laughed brightly at her own comment.

"Oh, hey MJ, how are you?"

"Hey Fred!"

"Oscar and Lee aren't here yet, but you know, they are just always late…"

"Don't worry."

"Oh, meet my Uncle Charlie." A tall and wide shouldered redhead was standing in the doorway. His hair was almost as long as Marie Josephine's and hung messily about. He was wearing robes, yet his pulled up sleeves showed numerous burn marks and scars on his arms.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley, how do you do?"

"Hello. You must be Marie Josephine?"

"Yes, that would be me." She felt really intimidated by this man, and Merlin knew she was not one to be intimidated.

"I hear you're into dragons."

"Yes, sir! I mean, they're just so beautiful and interesting and majestic and-"

"Fred, I can't believe you brought another one of those home!" In the door, Dominique and Roxanne were judging profusely the two dragon lovers.

"Roxy, Dom, how are you?"

"Hey MJ!" The girls hugged.

"So, Uncle Charlie, what do you think?"

"What do I think? I've exchanged five words with her, what am I supposed to think."

"But isn't she exactly like we described her?" Dom pressed.

"Marie Josephine, would you like to go upstairs for us to talk more privately."

"Oh sure. And it's Marie Jo."

"Of course." Marie Josephine followed Charlie up the creaking stairs. He led her to a large room decorated in red and golden colors, the walls and ceiling covered in dragon posters, mobiles, figurines and what not. There was a large shelf filled with books and others. On the ground was a big box.

"I brought some of my old books on dragons, the ones I studied for my first years. You see, the formation usually lasts about four to five years. Since you are thinking of going into Quidditch, I think you should prepare all the theory exams and medical practical. That way you can skip that part of the formation and immediately start working."

"Oh, wow, okay."

"McGonagall showed me your grades and you seem alright. Plus, you're fit from Quidditch and quite adequate at getting out of sticky situations, I do not think you will have problems. However, I need to make sure you are dedicated to this idea; it's a difficult career. And there are very little women, as I am sure you know."

"I do, and I really am serious about this. I love Quidditch but it only provides a very short career. I am not about to sit down behind some desk in the department of Magical Sports and much less write articles about Quidditch for the remainder of my days! I am hoping to prove it during my internship."

"I see…"

"Also, I'm not made of glass, Mr. Weasley, I really can handle myself."

"Yes, I believe you, but you know, not many people approve of their children doing dangerous jobs like mine… I'm hoping your parents are not… That kind of people."

"Well, they have no choice in the matter so let's consider them part of the second group, shall we?" Charlie smiled.

"Of course, Marie Jo, of course. Well, here are some books I think you should start with. I can lend you my first year ones, but unfortunately I sometimes find myself using the ones from the upper years and am not comfortable separating myself from them for such a long period of time. I made you a list instead. Here." He handed Marie Josephine an incredibly long parchments filled with book titles and articles she ought to read.

"Thank you so much Mr. Weasley!"

"Oh, no the pleasure is all mine. And it's Charlie, by the way. Just Charlie."


	10. Chapter 10

"ASTRID!"

"Marie Jo! How are you?" The girl welcomed her friend in a hug, only to get pushed away.

"You treacherous Ravenclaw, how dare you not tell me about your date with James?"

"I thought he'd tell you all about it…"

"Well, he didn't. I hate you!" Marie Josephine faked a pout but could not stand a second. She was immediately hugging Astrid with all her might. They were standing right in front of the barrier to Platform 9 3/4, followed closely by their parents and families. After saying goodbye to everyone, the two girls crossed the barrier. Mr. Wright thankfully accepted not to accompany his daughter, and stayed behind to chat with the Mayers.

"So, tell me." Marie Josephine pressed. Astrid blushed bright crimson.

"It was nice. We went to Quality Quidditch and supplies and WWW, and then had something to eat at the Cauldron." Marie Josephine raised an eyebrow at her. "And we might have snogged a little in the back of Flourish and Boots."

"I knew it!" Astrid chuckled.

"What is it you knew?" Lee Jordan asked from behind the two girls.

"Hey Lee!" He hugged them both.

"So, Mayers, ought I treat you like James's girl, MJ's only girlfriend or a random member of our little gang?"

"Shove it, Jordan, you know you are terrible at subtlety, so don't you try." Lee made a dejected face but perked right back up when he spotter Oscar across the platform. The Scottish boy spotted them at the same moment and came walking to them.

"Long time no see, girls…"

"Three days, Oggy, three days…" Marie Josephine sighed mockingly. Why did she have such lame friends again?

"Pfff, I know you missed me more than you let on."

"You wish…" they all laughed. Deciding it was better to get a good compartment than to wait for the Wotter clan to show up any time soon, they boarded the train, waving at people they knew and avoiding anyone they wished to.

"Seven years and James and Fred still can't be on time…" Lee joked when they had settled in the last compartment of the train. The two Longbottoms were already in the one next door, along with Emma Jordan.

The train was already moving when Fred and James, followed by Roxy, Al and Rose, Lily and the Scamander twins showed up.

"Well, you actually still exist!" Lee yelled when they came in. He got a bag in the face as a reply. When the others had settled down, the usual train ride mayhem began, amongst which Astrid and James disappeared and only returned when Hogsmeade was already in sight. Marie Josephine had a hard time keeping quiet about the disheveled look harbored by her two friends, but Lee saved her most of the trouble by getting attacked by his chocolate frog. Where did it ever say that Gryffindor was the house of the brave?

The feast was just as much fun. Fred and James somehow managed to turn all the food rubber, which took the teachers' several dozen minutes to reverse. The only down low: Ward and his stupidly obvious feelings. Oh, and his stuck-upness. In all her moodiness, Marie Josephine completely forgot that she had not seen not talked to anyone in her dorm since last term and went to bed readily. Ugh, people, really.

The next morning was just as excruciating thanks to one awesome female event. It did explain a lot but also ruined a lot. Marie Josephine was even more short-tempered than usual and got detention from Ms. Riviera for bad mouthing someone. In DADA, they worked on Patronuses and hers, which had finally started to show a kind of shape, was nothing but a tiny wisp.

"Oh My Merlin, I am going to slap someone!" she said after her hundredth attempt."

"Chill, MJ." Fred pressed. Behind her, James and Astrid were going all gooey on each other, provoking even more anger. How could people even be happy?

"Expecto Patronum!" She shouted angrily. To her greatest surprise, a large bear appeared from the tip of her want.

"Really, a bear?" She moaned.

"Oh, look, Ms. Wright has managed to produce a full-bodied Patronus. Very impressive, Miss."

"Thanks professor."

"Mind sharing your memory."

"Ummm. I was just really angry that all of my friends look so happy. It's weird, I'm going through… err… that time of the month and it was making me mad and then it just sort of worked." The whole class, including Professor Thomas, laughed at her discomfort.

"As you see, will is important. The memory does not do everything." Everyone went back to their respective Patronuses.

"That is one bloody huge Patronus, MJ… And a bear, really?" Fred teased.

"Winnie the Pooh is cute." She told Fred, shoving him in the side. Only Astrid got the reference.

"Expecto Patronum!" Fred yelled. Suddenly, a horse… Wait no a donkey emerged from his wand. Fred broke into fits of laughter while Marie Josephine completely lost it. Astrid, sitting right behind them with James was holding back a chuckle, and even the Head Girl laughed.

"Ah, now that is a Patronus!" He punched the air. Everyone had now recognized the silvery shape floating about the room. Marie Josephine cast her Patronus again and soon her bear was playing around with the donkey.

"Merlin, does anyone have a tiger and a piglet?" Marie Josephine called around. A few students chuckled and soon, two or three other Patronuses had joined the party.

"Hey, Marie Josephine, could I talk to you…"

"Sure Ward." The Head Boy had cornered Marie Josephine right outside the Great Hall.

"I was thinking, talk to you privately…"

"OOOH… Ermmm, how about right after dinner, meet me right outside the Common Room."

"Perfect." He disappeared, and did not even show up for dinner. Marie Josephine had sat with the Gryffindors, along with Astrid. They talked about the Quidditch game coming up, Hufflepuff against Slytherin. Whoever won would have a clear advantage for the Cup, and tensions were building. Even though Hufflepuff seldom took any care for said tensions, all the other houses liked to side, creating a huge pool of bets and others.

Marie Josephine hurried after dinner to meet up with Grant. He was sitting right in front of the entrance to the Common Room.

"Hey, what did you want to talk about?"

"Hey, erm, how about we go for a walk?"

"Okay." Oh, how she hoped this was not going where she thought it was going.

"So, how was your holiday?" Grant asked.

"It was great. I met Charlie Weasley, you know, he works with dragons and agreed to take me as an intern over Easter vacation."

"Wow, that's… cool. But dragons, really?"

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

"None… They're just dangerous, you know… I don't think it's so wise a job, I mean with your grades and…"

"What are you saying, Grant?"

"I… Okay, listen Marie Josephine." The two had arrived to the grounds and were now heading for the Lake. Grant was breathing in and out, to calm himself. "I really like you. You're an awesome girl, you're pretty, smart, funny, daring, and I really, really like you. Would you like to go out with me?"

"Oh, Grant, I… I don't exactly feel that way about you." Merlin's pants, how awkward. "I'm so, so sorry… I must decline the offer."

"What? But? Is it Weasley?"

"Who?"

"Fred Weasley… Ugh, ever since that shit in Defense."

"What? Well, I never thought you'd be that kind of guy, Ward; I'm really disappointed right now. How can you turn all jealous when all there is, is me not liking you? Please get off your high horse, dude, because you're not quite as perfect as you like to hang around pretending to be."

"Marie Josephine, I…"

"Ugh, I'm so disgusted right now, and I actually thought you were a decent person…" She shivered and walked away.

"Wait!" Grant grabbed Marie Josephine's arm and pulled her towards him. She crashed into his chest, dangerously close to his face. He bent forward, slowly closing his eyes…

"Perv!" Marie Josephine pushed him away and slapped him. "Get away from me…" She ran towards the school, leaving Ward holding on to his cheek and broken dignity.

Marie Josephine ran until she was up in Gryffindor tower. The portrait was obviously closed.

"Good evening!" The Fat Lady told her.

"Good evening, ma'am… Could you tell me if James Potter and Fred Weasley are inside?"

"Yes, I do believe they are…"

"Oh…"

"Would you like me to call them?" The portrait asked, obviously noticing the girl's distressed face.

"If you could, I would be very grateful, ma'am." The Fat Lady turned around in her portrait and disappeared. A minute later, she opened up to reveal Fred and James.

"Ugh, can we go down to the kitchens for comfort food?" Marie Josephine asked when she saw them.

"Sure…" They said in unison.

Once they each had a huge slice of pumpkin pie and cream in front of them, James decided to ask the fatal question.

"What's going on, MJ? Is it the PMS kicking in again?" He had obviously been informed on the Defense incident.

"Ugh, I wish. Wart just asked me out, tried to kiss me and then got jealous because he thought it was Fred's fault…"

"Oh…" The boys were at a loss for words. "Wouldn't Astrid or Roxy have been a better comfort?"

"They would not quite understand my wish to plummet the guy into the ground…"

"Oh, right." Fred laughed. He felt sick that Wart had asked his best friend out, and blamed her refusal on him…

"Anyways, I will be needing some help as well."

"What do you have in mind?" James asked. He was almost certain about where the girl was going. Her eyes were glowing mischievously.

"Well, I'm thinking about a nice little prank. Humiliation in front of the prefects. Then in front of the teachers. Then the whole school."

"Wow, how cruel."

"Oh, nonono, fair, my friend, just fair. It's a house trait. I need dung bombs, but those really hardcore only you two have? Astrid's told me about a Prefect meeting about the Easter Ball, followed by an encounter between the teachers and Head Students. Perfect occasions." James and Fred looked at each other with matching grins. Oh boy…

The pranks on Ward were a success. During the prefect meeting, Ward's robes began melting into a sort of stinking goo. A week later, after he had seemingly recovered, he found himself singing opera with the voice of a parrot as he tried to explain his ideas for the Ball to the teachers. And finally, the public humiliation was better than could have been asked for. The idea was for Emma Jordan, who had readily accepted the role, to pretend she was drowning. Head Boy Wart would have to intervene. Marie Josephine was set behind a tree; ready to cast a spell on him that would give him the illusion of seeing several Emma's drowning. So, as he tried to decide whom to save, the Giant Squid himself intervened, rescuing little Emma and leaving Ward looking as ridiculous as could be. He had to be saved by Hagrid and sent to the Hospital Wing to be checked on. Satisfied, Marie Josephine had even visited him with some chocolates in the Hospital, also to avoid any suspicions he might have been having.

"You really are terrible, MJ…" Lee laughed. It was the morning of the first Hogsmeade trip of the term. Marie Josephine did not feel like going, and was therefore staying at the school. Just the night before had been her visit to the Dear Head Boy, and Oscar and Lee were still impressed with her pranks.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." Oscar chuckled. "I wouldn't want my robes to melt during my sweet date with Jane Dawers." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"How she agreed to that, I will never know…" Lee shook his head, a face of mocking skepticism etched on.

"Neither will I." Oscar replied thoughtfully.

"Dudes, you suck… Now you two got girls and Lee and I are left here having lame bro dates at my dad's shop…"

"Speak for yourself, Freddie. I have got one perfect date waiting for me at 12 o'clock at the Broomsticks." Lee said cockily. Everyone's eyes widened. Immediately, Marie Josephine's eyes shot to Roxanne, sitting a little further down the table. She was dressed quite nicely, with makeup and everything. Turning back to Lee, she raised her eyebrows at him. Catching her drift he nodded slightly, just enough for her to understand.

"Well, Fred, looks like you're on your own."

"Are you sure you can't come, MJ?"

"Well… I'm in detention, remember? I have to wash the Hufflepuff Quidditch locker rooms… I can't believe Flint caught me practicing aiming at school broomsticks last week. I was so careful…"

"Ah, apparently not enough…" Fred said, slamming his head on the table. "What am I supposed to do with my life? What kind of friends even are you?"

"I'm so sorry… Actually, I'm not!" Marie Josephine suddenly exclaimed.

"Ugh, no need to be rude, ok?"

"Nonono that's not what I meant. Do you know how Hagrid paired me with Juliet in Care? Well, she might just have told me she did not have plans today and would very much enjoy to spend them with a certain Weasley…" Marie Josephine teased, pointing to the Juliet in question with her chin. She was a Gryffindor seventh year, and although not the brightest witch ever, she was adorable and had a nice sense of humor. Easily approachable, she was incredibly popular with boys.

"Really?" Fred perked up. He smirked lightly and said: "Well, dearies, I might just have to change my outfit to ask a certain hottie for lunch." And he left. Marie Josephine rolled her eyes and also stood up. She was wearing large jeans help up with suspenders. She was ready to clean both the boy and the girl locker rooms. How exciting…

"Well, Ms. Wright, here are your tools, please refrain from procrastinating, please. Oh, and could I have your wand." Marie Josephine handed him her wand and grabbed the mop, bucket and sponges with a sigh. Well, at least she actually knew how to clean Muggle style. After two hours of scrubbing, she was finished with the girl's room. Now she had to do the boy's. She shivered as she pushed the door, but entered nonetheless. The room smelled of after-shave and deodorant, which was better than she expected. It was, however, a lot messier than the girl's. The lockers were not all closed and there were clothes and Quidditch equipment sort of thrown everywhere. She began picking up shirts and folding them, putting away the Quaffles in the boxes, throwing away papers from half-finished snacks. Really, it was just a large-scale version of her own locker. She was scrubbing some goo off of a bench when she heard the light sound of bare feet against ceramic ground. ' _Merde!_ ' she thought. She did not expect it to be anyone practicing on a Hogsmeade weekend. She tried to stand up and leave but ended up face to face with her captain.

"Fletchley. Oh my, this is so awkward…"

"Hey…" He was wearing a towel around his waist and nothing else.

"I'm so, so sorry, I'm in detention right now and err… I have to clean… Okay, I'll just leave." She raced out of the locker room. Although Fletchley was on her Quidditch team, he was the captain, a definite social barrier, and his being in the year under Marie Josephine's had never allowed much interaction. She was friendly with him, but not enough to be at ease with him half naked. HALF NAKED. Good Dumbledore. HALF NAKED. She hid in the girl's locker room until she was sure he was gone, and went back to finish her detention. About an hour later, Professor Flint returned to pick her up and give her back her wand.

On the way back to the Hufflepuff Common Room, she took extreme care in avoiding any footsteps, fearing she might run into Fletchley. But the worse was yet to come. He was actually in the Common Room, spread on one of the couches, writing a letter, probably to his parents.

"Hey!" She said when he saw her coming through the door.

"Oh, hey Marie Jo." He smiled at her. "How was detention?" He asked after the most awkward second of Marie Josephine's life.

"Alright I guess."

"Oh, really?" He teased. Not understanding where he was going, an incredibly rare occurrence for the French girl, she smiled and sighed a small chuckle. "No interesting encounters worth mentioning?"

"Oh." She immediately caught his game. "Well… Nah. Maybe a Grindylow in the showers, but I think that was about it…"

"A Grindylow?"

"Oh, no wait, there was totally someone, or maybe not, can't remember exactly…" She said, shaking her head.

"Well, now I'm just offended." Fletchley joked. "I was hoping to make even the littlest impression on you clad in nothing else than my towel." He made a dejected face.

"Ah, sweetie, the only impression anyone could make on me is if they were able to tap dance on a broom." She laughed at his bewildered face.

"Well, I suppose that would be pretty amazing. Maybe I should start working on my tap dance if I ever want to impress you." Marie Josephine could not help but blush. Was he, flirting with her? Oh no she was out of comebacks, oh no.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"Oh, don't get cocky, you little sixth year." She replied.

"Oh, no, still got it." He said. "Anyways, if I learn to tap dance, will you agree to go out with me?"

"Suits me. How about a walk around the lake?" she asked. Smiling cockily, Fletchley vanished his writing utensils and grabbed her hand and dragged her out onto the grounds and to the frozen lake.


	11. Chapter 11

"Hey, MJ's not here." James noticed, eyeing the Hufflepuff table.

"Could she still be in detention?" Lee wondered.

"Could she have gotten more detention in detention?" Oscar asked.

"What the heck? James, do you have the map."

"No, it's upstairs, sorry… She's probably sleeping though." He shrugged and dug into his potatoes.

"Yeah, cleaning the men's locker room can be pretty disgusting." Fred shivered. "Though maybe Hufflepuffs are not as gross as we are?"

"Why are you so concerned anyways?" Oscar asked James.

"Merlin, I was just wondering if Wartie had kidnapped her so we could go jinx him, but it wouldn't appear so."

To James greatest displeasure, they did not see Marie Josephine that evening. As soon as they were back in their Common Room, James got the Map from his trunk.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He muttered. Oscar, Lee and Fred were huddled around him. "Alright, Frenchy, where are you hiding?"

"Oh, there! With Fletchley!" Lee exclaimed after a few seconds of intense concentration.

"What?"

"They're in an empty classroom, mate. You know what that means." Lee pointed out. Although he was trying to look calm and aloof, he was actually feeling the pleasant need to give Fletchley a little 'talk' about coming near his friends.

"Do you think they're snogging?" Oscar asked after an awkward moment of silence.

"I have had enough of indecent snogging for the day." Fred groaned. "I can't believe you took my sister out, Lee. How weird!" Lee blushed as much as his tan complexion allowed him to. "And you Oscar, with that fifth year, I can still feel my eyes burning."

"Oh, Fred, please, mental images!" James implored. He felt half sorry for his best friend now being the only single one in the group. But it was mostly his fault for having his head either stuck up his arse or just stuck deep in some prank planning.

"So, what do we do?" Lee interrupted.

"I don't know, Romeo, you tell me."

"Oh, beat it Fred, stop sulking about Roxy, I was very polite and careful."

"Yeah, but it's ROXY, man. You've known her since you were a baby, it's WEIRD."

"What's so weird?" The girl in question asked, sitting between Lee and her brother.

"You and my best mate dating!"

"Oh, Freddikins, are we jealous?" She pouted for him. "Are we lonely?"

"Shut it!"

"Come on, you know I wouldn't be reckless about this, so please stop sulking and go talk to Emma over there who's been checking you out since last summer." Fred raised his head lamely only to meet a pretty strawberry blond haired girl with light brown eyes looking at him. She turned her head quickly and blushed darkly, grabbing the book and quills that were lying next to her and scrambling towards the girl's staircase.

"What the hell?"

"She's shy, little brother, she's shy. Now tell me what you all are up to?"

"MJ has a new boyfriend." Oscar explained.

"I cannot believe you are actually spying on her…" Roxy bit her lip. "Who is it?"

"Fletchley."

"Really? Nice catch."

"Hey!" Lee and Fred chorused.

"It's a fact. Now close that map and find something intelligent to do before I get angry." She stood up, kissed Lee lightly on the lips and disappeared up the stairs as well.

"She's right, let's go."

"Where the heck do you think we're gonna go, James?"

"Quidditch?"

"Are you kidding? It's bloody freezing, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here and I'm going to be lazy!" Lee lied down on top of Fred as if to prove his point.

"Yeah, whatever, whatever…" James sat back down. There was a weird tension between the four boys, a first in their seven years as inseparable pranksters. "Alright, let's just play exploding snap." He said lamely. His friends shrugged in response and they spent the evening in silent discomfort.

"MJ! Where the hell were you yesterday?" Fred literally attacked the poor girl in the Hall.

"I was busy, man."

"Busy with Fletchley?" Lee said sarcastically.

"I can't believe it! You spied on me? Are you four for real?" Marie Josephine asked furiously.

"We were just worried." James said lamely.

"Worried my ass! You're just ridiculous! First of all, I'm your friend, not you doll or something. Secondly, his name's Lucas, and he's a very nice guy. Thirdly, get your nose out of my business!"

"MJ, we're sorry, we just thought you might've been kidnapped by Wart." Oscar squeaked.

"Oh really? I can handle myself, ok? I know what I'm doing…" Marie Josephine was a little calmer but her eyes were still shooting daggers at the four boys.

"Relax, MJ. All you need is a little girl's day." Roxy grabbed her arms and pulled her to her end of the table, where she was sitting with Dom. "I suggest we go to the Room of Requirement with Astrid, far from those idiots."

"Great idea!" Dom sprang up. "Astrid! Oy, Mayers!" She screamed across the Hall. The Ravenclaw eyes her with surprise and walked over.

"What is it?"

"Girls' day?"

"Absolutely." Dragged by Dom and Roxy, Astrid and Marie Josephine climbed to the seventh floor and paced in front of the Room of Requirement. A door carved itself on the wall, and the four girls entered. There was a beautiful and warm room, with bookshelves, couches, a large table covered in food, and a few other items for their personal comfort.

"This place is awesome!" Astrid exclaimed. "I had no idea a place like this existed."

"It's a secret not shared with many, so don't betray us."

"I won't, I promise."

"Cool." Marie Josephine was already stuffing a plate with cake from the table and came to sit with the girls on the couches. "What? I'm hungry." She shrugged off her friends' inquisitive looks.

"So, Fletchley, hm?"

"His name's Lucas and he's very nice." Marie Josephine bit her lip to stop herself from giggling.

"I need more than nice, girl." Roxy laughed. "I mean, he's Quidditch captain so there have got to be some nice abs under those robes."

"I saw him in detention. I was scrubbing the boy's locker room and he was showering. I sort of ran into him clad in nothing but his towel." Marie Josephine was pretty red by now. "He is H-O-T." The three other girls screeched excitedly. "Then, I went back to the Common Room praying I wouldn't run into him and he was there. And then he said he wanted to impress me and I said ok then he should learn to tap dance on a broom and he said he would and we went down to the Lake for a walk and then snogged a little."

"So cute!" Astrid sighed.

"Since when is snogging cute?" Dom asked with a false shiver.

"How did that even happen though?"

"I don't know exactly, it just sort of did. I mean he really is cute and nice, but I never really thought of him like that because he's Quidditch captain and all. But then again, maybe I did." Marie Josephine winked mischievously. "He said he crushed on me on the day of the try-outs! He was just really unsure that I'd like him because I hung out with James, Fred, Oscar and Lee. And because he's a year younger."

"Well, I hear he's really mature." Dom mused. She was in Lucas's year, and a few of her friends knew him quite well. "Rosaline dated him for a few weeks last year and she said he was great. But then she had a crush on Ward so…"

"How can someone have a crush on Ward?" Marie Josephine gagged.

"Daisy has a crush on him."

"What?"

"Yup… And she's not the only one. He's not bad, he's just weird."

"He has no idea what the real world looks like, he has no idea who he is or even who he wants to be!"

"Yes, but he's a loyal and trustworthy person. I think that's why he's Head Boy with Molly. She's more stubborn and fiery, he's calmer and less decisive, ready to analyze the two sides of the question." Astrid pointed out thoughtfully.

"You are such a Ravenclaw. Whatever, tell us about James." Roxy pressed.

"He's your cousin, I don't think I have anything to teach you about him."

"That, Astrid, is where you're mistaken. You see, he doesn't behave like a sickly little lovebird around me."

"Shut up!" Astrid sent a pillow at her. "Well, he's the sweetest boy ever. And he's a great kisser. And he's very nicely built."

"And he's rich!" Marie Josephine joked.

"That's less important. His really nice shoulders are still my first choice." The four girls laughed. "And the fact that he loves snogging in the Library."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah, we don't study a lot together, why do you think I look so tired?"

"Oh my God, ew!" Marie Josephine made a face.

"What? We still haven't snogged under the Quidditch bleachers, or in here, or in either of our Common Rooms. Nor in any broom closets, that's repulsive."

"You have standards, woman."

"Of course, what did you think I was? A lowly Muggle peasant?"

For the rest of the day, the four girls stayed in the Room of Requirement, talking, eating, reading or sleeping, and taking a much needed break away from the world, from it's annoying friends, brothers, hot boyfriends and creepy stalkers. And about the upcoming Hufflepuff against Slytherin game…

"Hufflepuff is now down to players!" Lee's voice echoed in the Pitch. "Baker and Robinson are out. With only one Beater and two Chasers, will Hufflepuff be able to maintain their short lead?" The game had been extremely intense so far. The teams had been on the Pitch for a little more than an hour. The Slytherin team had tried to destabilize their opponent by knocking out as many of their players as they could. The beaters had immediately knocked out Robinson, whom they thought would be the biggest threat. Little did they know that on her own, Marie Josephine was almost as terrible. She had been able to stop the Slytherin chasers from scoring since the beginning of the game. Unfortunately, Flint was an incredible keeper and had also stopped many of Hufflepuff's goals.

"Oh, what a foul! Professor Flint whistles a penalty in favor of Gryffindor and Fletchley scores! All right! Morrison seems fine. If Hufflepuff were to lose their seeker, the game would be nearly over for them." Lee's voice was tense. Marie Josephine felt the rage she had been trying to contain bubble inside of her. Professor Flint was being perfectly impartial, but she felt so angry at all the fouls Slytherin had committed. And on top of it, Morrison was already bruised all over. She was a good beater, she knew it, but the Slytherin brutes were not making it easy. There was one half-giantess and a bulk of muscle against which there was nothing she had managed to do so far.

"Beater Wright stops the Slytherin Chasers from reaching her side's hoops again. She is playing absolutely brilliantly! She's everywhere at once; I mean look at those sharp turns. Oh, Edwards almost shoves her off her broom! That's a foul!" Unfortunately, Flint had not been looking at that moment, and Marie Josephine was left with a great wish for revenge.

"Oh, it's on!" She muttered darkly, speeding up, she swung her bat and sent a Bludger straight into Flint's broom, who fell down from his guarding post in front of the hoops. Since Marie Josephine had not actually hit him, it did not count as a foul and the game just kept going. Not even two minutes later, Marie Josephine knocked out Baker, the bulky beater, leaving her face to face with the half-giantess.

"Wright has balanced out the teams. It's a beating face off, I mean, wow!"

"Jordan, I want real commentary, yes."

"Sorry, Professor, it's just, I'm at a loss for words!" Marie Josephine was playing exceptionally. Her every move had undesirable consequences on the Slytherin team, either stopping their beater from doing anything, or rendering their Chasers completely powerless. "And Morrison is speeding up! Has she found the snitch? She's closely followed by Malfoy, who has to slow down because of a Bludger! AND SHE CCAUGHT THE SNITCH! HUFFLEPUFF WINS 190-0!" Lee was yelling, but even then his voice was completely covered with the loud cheers from the Hufflepuff stands. The Hufflepuff team came down. They would know after the game between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw who they would face at the final. They were going to the final.

"We're going to the final!" Marie Josephine yelled in Lucas's ear as they hugged.

"You were great out there, MJ." He kissed her. "Thank Merlin for your skill."

"Thanks. But if it weren't for you, the team would've crashed after the first play."

"MJ! Congrats!" Oscar, Lee, Fred and James were squeezing their way through the crowd. "You too, Fletchley."

"Potter, Wood, Jordan, Weasley." Lucas nodded a short greeting. "We'll be holding a celebration in our Common Room. You four are invited. Dates recommended."

"We'll be there." Marie Josephine wanted to laugh at the tension the five boys were creating for absolutely no reason.

"I'm going to shower. I'll see you at the party then." She winked at them and raced for the locker room, trying to hide the giggles that she had been holding for too long.

"I probably should too… See you later, then." They nodded their goodbyes and Lucas also made his way to the locker room, eager to shorten the confrontation with his girlfriend's famously overprotective friends. So. Awkward.

"Only three months 'till NEWTs…" Astrid and James were both sitting by the Lake, curled up under a heavy blanket and enjoying some time alone.

"Yeah, I know."

"Are you still thinking of becoming an Obliviator?"

"Yes, it's definitely what I want to do. What about you? Have you made up your mind?"

"Healer, like my mum."

"Really?"

"Yes, just not experimental healer. I want to help people now, not prepare to help in the future. I don't know if you understand."

"I do." They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, Astrid's head resting against James's warm sweater. "Hey, James?"

"Yes?"

"No matter what happens at the game tomorrow, let's not hate each other."

"As if I could hate you, Astrid. As if."

"Well, I don't know, I just don't want you to go all Gryffindor pride on me."

"I love my House, I really do. But I'm only a Gryffindor until June. I want to be your boyfriend until after that." Astrid blushed a little.

"I wanna be your girlfriend until after that too."

"It's settled then."

"Promise we'll also support whoever gets to kick Hufflepuff's ass."

"Definitely! MJ needs to be put in her place." They laughed at their friend's untarnished record of Quidditch prodigy, grades beyond anyone's expectations and impeccable mischief planning. "I really don't know how she does that."

"Neither do I. Are you going home for Easter?"

"No. I'm staying here. My parents are going on a Ministry trip or something. But Oscar, Lee and Fred are going home."

"Really?"

"Yeah, a whole week to ourselves, girl." Astrid turned around a little so that she was facing James. She leaned in and kissed him gently.

"I'm looking forward to it." She got up and grabbed her bag. "I'm sorry James, I really have to study, though. You know I can't concentrate much with you around."

"Ok, I understand. I'll see you at dinner then."

"See you." She kissed him one last time and left for the castle. James stared after her for a second. Merlin, he truly did love her.

"Hello, lovebird, mind if I join you?"

"Hey, MJ."

"Ready for the game?"

"What if it gets awkward with Astrid. I really love her, MJ, I want to marry this girl." Marie Josephine gave him the wide eyes for a second, then caught herself.

"It won't."

"How can you know?"

"I know you and I know Astrid. Neither of you want this relationship over, and as much as you two love Quidditch, you're not about to let it ruin your respective happiness. I promise you it won't ruin anything." They sat in silence for a few seconds. "Anyways, I was here to ask you about your Uncle Charlie?"

"What about him?"

"Well, Easter holidays are in a few weeks, and I still have no idea how to get to Romania…"

"Oh, no! Did I forget to give you his letter?"

"I don't know Sherlock, you tell me."

"Oh Merlin's pants, I forgot! I'm so sorry! Gran sent it to me because she thought I would be more responsible than Fred. I'm an idiot."

"James, all you're doing is stating the obvious, I need information."

"Right, come, it's in my dorm."

"I'm following." Marie Josephine rolled her eyes until they nearly fell off the back of her head and followed her friend in the castle.

"I really have to learn responsibility, or Astrid is going to kill me." Marie Josephine refrained from rolling her eyes more and pushed him up the staircases to Gryffindor Tower. Whatever.

The game between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw was clean and beautiful. Both teams played extremely well, but Gryffindor won anyways, thanks to Al's incredible talent. James and Astrid survived quite nicely to the first time their relationship seemed to get strained, but that might just have been due to the fact that Marie Josephine and Fred kept making fun of the both of them whenever the subject was brought up.

Easter vacation was coming up, along with nicer weather everyday, much to Marie Josephine's greatest delight. She was also looking forward to her trip to Romania. She would be leaving directly from Hogwarts and would have to take a double Portkey, first to Austria and then to Romania, where Charlie would be waiting for her.

"Astrid, I can't believe this. I'm leaving tomorrow!" Marie Josephine repeated for the thousandth time that day.

"Yes, well then pack!" The Ravenclaw answered angrily. They were in the Hufflepuff dormitory. They both had a free hour until dinner and Astrid had agreed to help her friend pack, but so far, not so good. "I swear to God, MJ, you are worse than the boys. Can't you just sit down for a second and choose your underwear."

"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited."

"At this rhythm, all you're going to get is burned by dragons because you're acting like an irresponsible three-year-old." Astrid threw herself on her friend's bed in despair.

"Hey, by the way, have you met Fred's new girlfriend?"

"He has a new girlfriend?"

"Yeah, Emma, that Gryffindor sixth year who's friends with Dom?"

"And?"

"They're official since yesterday but apparently have been sort of going out for a month really."

"Oh, I knew about that. I noticed." Astrid gave a desperate chuckle.

"You always know everything, how does one gossip with you?"

"Sorry, you're the one's that are all blind in the first place." Marie Josephine sat next to Astrid. "So you're staying with James?"

"Yes."

"Are you nervous?"

"What?"

"You two have been dating for four months, are you nervous that something might happen?"

"I don't nervous as much as I wonder what it would mean. I love him, MJ. I really do."

"Have you told him?"

"No."

"Then do. He loves you too, Astrid. I promise he does. You should tell him."

"See, I'm nervous that he might not mean it all the same way I do."

"He does. He one hundred percent does. It's rare to find a boy that should like you so much at so young an age, but he really does feel that way about you. And it's not just observation. He's actually told me."

"What?"

"The day before the game? He was really anxious that it would ruin your relationship or something. And he said the cutest things about you. It was so sweet I thought he would turn to honey."

"What do you mean?"

"It is not my place to tell you, but if you ask him, he'll say."

"MJ?" Astrid sat up, hugging a pillow.

"Yes?"

"Pack."

"Yes, mummy."


	12. Chapter 12

"Good evening, Marie Jo." Charlie Weasley greeted as the young girl walked down from the platform.

"Good evening, sir."

"Please, we've already been over this. It's Charlie."

"Ah, right, Charlie."

"I hope you had a nice trip."

"It was alright. Portkeys aren't exactly the most comfortable way to travel."

"We agree on that. I hope you don't mind, but you'll be staying at my place for the week."

"That's perfect. Thank you for having me!" Charlie grabbed Marie Josephine's arm and apparated to a small house on top of a little hill. It reminded the girl of the Burrow, and she thought he was probably trying to make it a little piece of home. There was a village at the bottom of the hill, about a mile away."

"So this is where I live. The village is completely Muggle, so be careful. We have to be at work tomorrow by nine, so I suggest you head to bed early. You must be tired and you better be fit."

"What are we doing?" She asked as Charlie pushed the door of his house open, revealing exactly what Marie Josephine would expect a bachelor's house to look like.

"I don't think the boys will want you to go near the dragons just yet. So tomorrow you'll have your chance to prove yourself. You'll probably stay at the Bunker."

"Ok, that's good."

"Have you read all the books I gave you last time?"

"The interesting ones, yes. I've started them all, but not actually finished."

"You are so much like James and Fred." He chuckled rolling his eyes. "That is going to be your room for the week." He pushed the door of a small but very cozy room, with paintings of dragons on the walls and shelves of books and dragon claws.

"I'll make sure not to break anything." Marie Josephine joked, eyeing curiously the little glass boxes containing all sorts of dragon related artifacts.

"Yeah. The bathroom is right down the corridor. I'll let you clean up a bit."

"Thank you so much, Charlie." Marie Josephine smiled kindly as the man left the room, eager to avoid the awkward silence that was threatening to settle.

After a nice shower, Marie Josephine pulled out a few books and personal items from her bag, creating an immediate mess of clothes all rolled together. Shrugging it off, she reached for a large gift that she had brought for Charlie: it was the Muggle collection of _Eragon_ , which, she had found out, he did not know anything about. She had loved it as a young teen and hoped he would find it as inspiring as she had. Before she could head out, though, her cellphone rang:

"Maman?"

"Marie Josephine? Es-tu bien arrivée?" Her mother's worried voice said in her ear.

"Oui, Maman, je viens de sortir de la douche. Ça fait à peine une heure que je suis arrivée."

"Oh. Je me faisais juste du soucis."

"Je sais, je sais, mais je dois aller dîner. Charlie va commencer à devenir awkward si je me dépêche pas."

"Bien sûr, ma chérie. Appelle-nous demain."

"Dac. Bisous à toi et papa."

"Bisous." Marie Josephine threw the phone on her bed with a sigh of despair. Her parents were so overprotective, she sometimes wondered how they managed to send her off to boarding school every year. Or how she would move out. That was going to be fun. Grabbing the parcel, she headed to the kitchen, where Charlie was cooking some kind of Romanian and completely unknown dish.

"Charlie? I brought this for you." She extended the gift.

"Really? You shouldn't have."

"It's not much, but I hope you'll like it." Charlie unwrapped the three extremely thick books and stared with awe at the beautiful covers. Marie Josephine knew the French edition had particularly beautiful illustrations and had managed to charm the covers (quite illegally, but that stays a secret) to look like them.

"Wow, the pictures are fascinatingly accurate…"

"The pictures are the least important part. This is a young teens book series and I loved it a lot, it's very inspiring, so I hope you will too. It's really popular in the Muggle world."

"Really?"

"Yes, there's even a film, but I didn't like it quite as much."

"Film? Those are the Muggle moving pictures, right?"

"Yes, that's what a film is."

"Well, thank you very much, Marie Jo. Did you charm the covers?"

"Yes, I did."

"They look very nice."

"Thank you."

 **Dear Marie Jo,**

 **You were right, something happened with James. It wasn't bad, but still I wish you were here, I kind of need a girl to talk about it. And damn these wizards for not letting Muggle phones work in Hogwarts!**

"No! This is not right!" Astrid thought, rolling the parchment into a ball and throwing it angrily at the wall. It was past midnight and the girl just could not sleep. The night before, she had not slept much either, all because of James Potter. Why was she even dating him? Right, because she loved him. And the she in question was only eighteen. And not even out of school. And she loved a boy. Who had told his best friend he intended to marry her. And they had sex. And they were a serious thing. And he said he would propose when he had money. From his own job. Oh God. The worse was that she wanted it too. I mean sure, James a Lily Potter got married almost straight out of Hogwarts, but they lived during a war. Not even five years later they were dead. Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Potter up there. But it is true. Those were normal times now; people did not get married fresh off school. And if they did, they divorced. But she did not want to divorce James.

"ASTRID!" A loud voice called from the Common Room. Standing up, the girl opened the door of the dorm. She was almost alone in the Ravenclaw tower, since almost everyone had gone home for the holidays.

"ASTRID MAYERS, GET YOURSELF DOWN HERE NOW!" There was no mistaking it: that was Marie Josephine's voice.

"MJ? Where are you?"

"The fireplace, idiot."

"Sorry." Astrid kneeled down in front of the fireplace. "How are you here?"

"Hacked the system a little. Say, Fred called from his Aunt Hermione's place saying something was up?"

"What?"

"With James."

"Oh… Yes, there just might."

"Tell me!"

"Well, we sort of did the deed yesterday."

"That's no surprise. But that's not what's got him all worked up, is it?"

"He told me what it is that he told you the other day."

"Oh. The marriage thing?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"MJ, I love him."

"I know."

"But I don't want to marry him."

"What?"

"Not straight out of school. He said he wanted to wait until he had his own money from his own job."

"Mathematically speaking, that's minimum three years. By then, you'll be twenty one, that's a perfectly respectable age to get married."

"I don't know, MJ."

"Well, Astrid, neither do I. Don't get worked up about it. Go see James tomorrow and just tell him that you slept all day because the sex was so great."

"Shut it!"

"Something like that. He's really worried. For Fred to call me in the middle of the night from his aunt's house about James, it means something is up."

"You're right, I'm so stupid."

"No shit, Sherlock." Had Marie Josephine actually been in the room, there would have been no more Marie Josephine. "It's ok not to know, girl, you're young, but enjoy it. James has liked you forever, he probably doesn't mind waiting more."

"You're right. Gosh, I feel terrible. Do you know the Gryffindor password?"

"No, but if you ask the Fat Lady, she can call them outside. The boys have a painting of Fred Weasley in their dorm."

"Perfect!"

"Indeed. Well, I better go back to bed. Tomorrow is my first day with the dragons. Actually with them, so I better be awake."

"Awesome, tell me all about it when you come back. Miss you!"

"Miss you too. Go get your love, then." But Astrid was already running out the Common Room towards Gryffindor Tower. The stone felt really cold against her bare feet but she honestly could not care less. Actually, she could because that made her incredibly silent and harder to spot for Peeves or the caretaker. She was breathing way too fast by the time she got to the Fat Lady.

"Excuse me?" She asked softly. She heard heavy snored in reply. "Ma'am, excuse me?"

"Who's there?"

"My name is Astrid, I was wondering if you could call James Potter?"

"And what for?"

"I love him, ma'am, and I really don't want him to think the contrary." The Fat Lady looked at her for about half a minute, then turned around and walked out of her portrait, muttering something about namesakes and redheads.

Astrid waited for what seemed to be the longest time ever, but was in reality about sixty seconds. James was also awake and when the Fat Lady told him a certain Astrid was waiting outside for him, he just ran outside like a madman. He stumbled out of the portrait hole straight into Astrid's arms.

"James!"

"Astrid!"

"James." Astrid caught her breath. "I'm so sorry, I was… sleeping most of the day."

"It's ok." He seemed really nervous.

"I really love you James. I just do. No matter how much planning you're doing which kind of scares me, I really love you and I want you to know that."

"Merlin, Astrid, I'm sorry. I didn't want you to freak out. I've liked you since second year. Or maybe even first. I sort of forgot this is very new for you."

"Admit it, you are secretly a meticulous Ravenclaw and love planning ahead."

"I hope not…" Astrid chuckled lightly.

"I probably should go back to sleep, though."

"You should, or you'll look terrible tomorrow."

"Shut up." She kissed his cheek, afraid of the smell of her breath and walked back to her Common Room, with the largest smile ever stamped on her face. Watching her from behind, James harbored the same goofy expression: adorably cute, young love.

"Well then, Marie Jo, it was great to have you."

"Please, Charlie, the pleasure was all mine!"

"I hope this helped you understand whether or not you truly want to study dragons."

"It did more than that, I am absolutely certain now that this is what I want to do."

"I'm very glad! And everyone at the Bunker adored you, so if you ever want to come again, you're more than welcome."

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. I must also insist that you come to my house for dinner this summer when you're in England."

"I'll remember that, then." He hugged Marie Josephine tightly. The two had become great friends: despite their age difference, they were actually very similar. They had both been flying several times, talked about Quidditch, Hogwarts, dragons and what not, and found themselves sharing the same opinion on almost everything. "I'll miss you Marie Jo. Watch over my nephews, will you?"

"I'll miss you too. I'll take care of them, don't worry." She climbed on the departure platform and grabbed her Portkey, back to Austria and then Hogwarts, where she would get a few hours of rest, only to start school again in the morning.

"Bye, Charlie!"

"Bye, Marie Jo, have a safe trip!" She felt the familiar pull at her belly and suddenly, Romania was gone. Before her brain processed the felling of sickness, she landed in the same platform she had a week before that.

"Correspondence?" A strange creature that looked like a Goblin asked.

"Hogwarts, please." The creature handed her another Portkey, and Marie Josephine was once again pulled by the navel and back home.

She landed in the Headmistress's office, as planned.

"Ms. Wright!" McGonagall looked up from her desk. "Good to see you again."

"Good evening, Professor. It's good to be back too."

"I believe all your friends are very impatiently waiting for you."

"They are? Where?"

"How could I know?" Marie Josephine thought she saw the hint of a smile on the Headmistress's face. "Good evening, then."

"Good evening, Professor." Marie Josephine exited the room a little bewildered. As soon as she was down the stairs, she ran down to the Hufflepuff Common Room to drop off her stuff, hoping to Merlin, Morgana and all their tiny children (that she always thought they were meant to have) that Ward would not be there. He was not. It was not even a minute later that she was running up to Gryffindor Tower.

"Hello, Ma'am!" She greeted the Fat Lady.

"Hello Marie Josephine. The boys are not here."

"What? Oh, come on!"

"I believe Roxanne Weasley and Ms. Mayers are with them."

"Great, that doesn't tell me where they are."

"Indeed it does not. I'm sorry, I can't help you any further."

"It's alright. Good evening."

"Good evening to you too." Marie Josephine raced to the Room of Requirement, but there was no one there either. In defeat, she went back down to the dungeons. Until her stomach rumbled and she remembered the kitchens. She tickled the pear and hopped through the door. Sitting at the teachers' table were Fred, James, Oscar, Lee, Astrid and Roxy, happily stuffing their faces with pumpkin pie.

"Hello there." Marie Josephine called.

"MJ! You're back." Fred jumped up excitedly.

"I am."

"And all in one piece!"

"I'm just missing some hair." She joked, hugging Fred tightly, soon followed by the boys, Astrid and Roxy.

"So, tell us about Romania."

"It was… Brilliant. I loved it. I learned so many cool things and dragons are just… perfect. God, it was incredible."

"So it's definitely what you want to do?"

"Yes." Marie Josephine was lost in a daze.

"You're still going into Quidditch first though, right?" Fred asked nervously.

"I am. It is important to be in shape, so it's almost part of the training program."

"Great!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the Puddlemere coach contacted me after the game against Ravenclaw. He said he had been following me since the game against Slytherin and was interested in seeing me at try-outs.

"Really? Fred, that's awesome, we could be in Puddlemere together."

"Yep."

"Fred, you hadn't told us!" Roxy dropped her fork angrily.

"I wanted MJ to be here too." He shrugged lamely. Roxy simply raised an eyebrow at him and then suddenly smirked knowingly.

"What's with the smile, Roxy?" Astrid asked.

"Nothing, I just thought of something impossibly funny. You wouldn't understand."

"Why thanks, twinsies, so much for sharing secrets."

"Freddikins, I'll tell you all about it when you start sharing your secrets."

"Alright!" James interrupted. "Catfights are not welcome here, children." He patted both his cousins' heads. "But you can go kill each other in the hallway."

"I missed you all." Marie Josephine said, laughing. She paused for a second. "But I better go to bed. Long day ahead and everything."

"Tell me about it." Astrid sighed. "Tell. Me. About it."


End file.
